Groundbreaking demand for bioplastic resins in future years – consumer preferences rely upon sustainable products

It is going to be a good and robust phase for the production and consumption of bioplastics which has been recently favored by Freedonia Group survey prediction with 19% increase, reaching to 950000 metric tons until 2017. The study was based on the assumptions that these bioplastic products were either derived from plant-based raw materials or are completely biodegradable hence; some of the other resins such as oxo-biodegradable, adhesives, coatings, compounds and composites have been excluded from the demand total that are not considered completely biodegradable.

Bioplastic demand has sharply risen to a mammoth level at global stage which seems to be stimulated by three main factors –

·         Priorities for sustainable materials

·         Development of new biodegradable products

·         Massive acceptance of bioplatsic products by compounders & processors

No doubt, PLA or polylactic acid is the top choice of consumers for this stage but more biobased commodity resins like polypropylene & polyethylene will soon enter into bioplastic industry with increased demands although they can be easily attributed to the biobased content rather than biodegradability. Beverage container market will further see the demands for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) by 2022.

Western Europe leads the consumption market for bioplastic resins, quickly followed by North America and Asia/Pacific region. Bioplastic production level has reached new landmarks in countries like Brazil, China and Thailand, opposed to the past leaders such as Western Europe and US.