According to the British Plastics Federation, the UK industry consumes around 4.8 mln tons of polymers a year and produces around 2.5 mln tons of end product, as per a report by Research and Market. The largest area of demand is packaging. It is estimated that around 2 mln tons of plastic packaging is used in the UK, but this figure is higher when including the packaging used with imported goods. After packaging, the second largest area of demand for polymers is that of construction products, accounting for around 22% of UK polymer supply. Electrical equipment, housewares, agricultural products and vehicle manufacture account for around 30% of demand between them. The remaining 12% of demand is split between medical equipment, toys and sporting goods, clothing and other. In the UK, it has been estimated that plastic waste has been growing by around 2%, reaching around 3.4 mln tons in 2007. For 2008, it is estimated that this level has remained static, underpinned by reduced levels of consumer demand in the second half of the year. Consumer goods packaging comprises around 60% of the total, while non-consumer packaging accounts for a further 13% or so. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and plastic from end of life vehicles (ELVs) each account for around 6 -7%. Since 2006 several companies have invested heavily in developing substantial new capacity, particularly in the area of closed loop' packaging recycling. Among these are Closed Loop London, AWS Ecoplastic, Jayplas, Intercontinental Recycling and Baylis Recycling.
23-Jun-11 
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}