Antimicrobial plastic is a type of polymer material infused with antimicrobial agents and additives such as organic-metallic biocides and arseni-based oxybisphenox arsine (OBPA). In comparison with normal plastic, antimicrobial plastic is more cost-effective and eco-friendly, and is hence used in a variety of applications ranging from health care, packaging food, construction, consumer goods, and automotive parts. The antimicrobial plastic market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.7%, by volume, in the next five years, to reach 5,657.6 KT by 2020, ass per Research and Markets. Health care is the key application of antimicrobial plastic, followed by packaging and consumer goods. This application accounted for 40% share of the market in 2014. Health care and packaging applications of antimicrobial plastic are projected to witness the highest CAGR of 7.8%, each, by volume, between 2015 and 2020. Commodity plastics are widely used in a wide range of applications such as packaging, pharmaceuticals, and automotive due to their chemical and physical properties, which make it suitable for use in the antimicrobial plastic market. This is followed by engineering plastic and high performance plastic. Commodity plastic accounted for 60% share of the market in 2014. The engineering plastic segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR of 7.8%, by volume, between 2015 and 2020.

As per MarketsandMarkets, the Antimicrobial Plastic Market size, in terms of value, is projected to reach US$16.17 bln by 2020, at a CAGR of 8.7%, between 2015 and 2020. Antimicrobial plastic are mainly used to kill microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, and fungi, and inhibit their growth in the end-use products. The antimicrobial plastic market is mainly being driven by growing consumer awareness regarding health-related issues, rapid urbanization, and growing population in Asia-Pacific & South American regions. The key factors restraining this market include volatility in raw material prices and stringent regulations. The manufacturing cost of antimicrobial plastic is high, which increases the overall cost of the existing products, which majorly affects the profit margins of the manufacturers. Unexplored antimicrobial plastic in textiles and houseware application in emerging markets offers various opportunities to antimicrobial plastic manufacturers. Commodity plastic is the key type of antimicrobial plastic followed by engineering plastic and high performance plastic. Commodity plastic is the largest segment that accounts for 60% share of the antimicrobial plastic market. The Asia-Pacific region dominated the demand for commodity plastic type of antimicrobial plastic, followed by North America and Europe. The engineering plastic segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR of 8.8%, between 2015 and 2020. Health care is the key application of antimicrobial plastic followed by packaging and consumer goods. It is the largest application in the antimicrobial plastic market and accounts for more than one-third share of the market. The Asia-Pacific region dominated the market for health care application of antimicrobial plastic, followed by North America and Europe. Health care and packaging applications are projected to witness the highest CAGR of 8.8%, between 2015 and 2020. The leading players in the market include the BASF SE (Germany), Bayer MaterialScience AG (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Clariant AG (Switzerland), Lonza Group AG (Switzerland), Microban International (U.S.), Parx Plastic BV (The Netherlands), King Plastic Corporation (U.S.), Biocote (U.K.), Milliken Chemical (U.S.), Sanitized AG (Switzerland), and PolyOne Corporation (U.S.).

As per MarketsandMarkets, the global antimicrobial plastic market is projected to reach around US$3.6 bln by 2020 and register a CAGR of 10% between 2015 and 2020 in terms of value. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to dominate the antimicrobial plastics market and is anticipated to account for the highest growth rate between 2015 and 2020. Country-wise, China is estimated to be the top consumer of antimicrobial plastics in the region in 2014, and is projected to register a high CAGR between 2015 and 2020. The U.S. is currently the largest antimicrobial plastics consumer globally but is anticipated to be out casted by the emerging BRIC countries in the near future. Many top market players are shifting their production and distribution business in Asia-Pacific and South America to tap the growing market demand of antimicrobial plastics in these regions. Packaging and Healthcare segment are the two major applications of antimicrobial plastic market having major market share in 2014 and is projected to dominate the global market by 2020 mainly due to the growth of innovative ways to proactively inhibit microbial growth on surfaces of plastic products and medical equipment. The automotive application is also showing an upward trend due to the growing replacements of conventional materials such as metals and glass by plastics. Growing consumer awareness about health-related infections and increasing regulations in North America and Europe to use products & devices of antimicrobial coatings so as minimize contact with pathogens and spreading of any infections is projected to drive the global antimicrobial plastics demand for healthcare application. Substantial improvements in the standard of living of the consumers have resulted in increased demand for more hygienic and sophisticated plastic products. Consumers today are well aware about health-related issues and pathogenic diseases and hence demand for products having antimicrobial properties to prevent spread of any harmful effect of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae. This results in increased consumption of antimicrobial plastic products for applications in construction, packaging, and healthcare segments, thus propelling the growth of global antimicrobial plastics market.

Amid rising demand from healthcare sector, the U.S. market for antimicrobial plastics will grow from US$662.3 mln in 2013 to US$1227.4 mln by 2020, registering a CAGR of nearly 9.35% over the period. Volume-wise, the market observed a demand of approximately 100,062 tons in 2013, as per Transparency Market Research report. The report states that the U.S. antimicrobial plastics market is primarily growing due to the flourishing American industry of medical devices. Apart from this, the market has also benefitted significantly from the rising prevalence of hospital-acquired infections and rising demand for antimicrobial plastics from the packaging industry in the past few years. However, volatile prices of raw materials, which hamper the profit margins of antimicrobial plastic manufacturers, will hamper the market's growth to a certain extent during the forecast period. The market has growth opportunities through product innovations, a factor that may play a major role in deciding competition and market prominence in future. The report segments the U.S. antimicrobial plastics market according to the chief applications of antimicrobial plastics, including personal care, electronics & consumer goods, automotive, packaging, healthcare, building & construction, and other nominal applications such as sportswear, waste bins, etc. Among these, the healthcare segment held the largest share of the market, nearly 44%, in 2013. The U.S. antimicrobial plastics market is extremely fragmented and features a number of manufacturers. Additionally, the capital-intensive nature of the market and the complex manufacturing conditions pose a fairly low threat of forward or backward integration.