Market Study Compostable Plastic Products in Europe

Nova-Institute publishes the first comprehensive market study on the consumption of biodegradable and compostable plastic products in Europe: 100.000 tonnes in 2015, market demand could grow to beyond 300.000 t in 2020.

Compostable plastic bags dominate the market for biodegradable plastics in Europe. They not only carry goods and biowaste but also the hopes of the bioplastics industry for huge markets in years to come. The legal framework and composting infrastructure of EU member states were found to be either the bottleneck or the key driver for market development. These are some of the main findings by the expert team at nova-Institute who researched the European market demand for biodegradable polymers by country as well as application, and analysed framework conditions in detail. The market of compostable and biodegradable plastic products grew to 100.000 tonnes in 2015, and could grow to beyond 300.000 tonnes in 2020—if the legal framework were to be set more favourably.

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The study “Consumption of biodegradable and compostable plastic products in Europe” found that about two thirds of all products on the market are compostable bags, mainly used for shopping or the collection of biowaste. All other sectors show a wide variety of different products but most of them are still small in volume. "It was amazing to see that businesses have found a real market and product focus" says Michael Carus, Managing Director of the German Nova-Institute, "The value proposition for biodegradable polymers has become much clearer now". The research team analysed the consumption of biodegradable polymers such as PLA- or starch-based plastics by application, geography and polymer type.

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