PackagingNews

The European bioplastics market is predicted to surge from around 1.4m tonnes (annual production capacity) in 2012 to approximately 6.2m tonnes in 2017, according to the Board of European Bioplastics

According to the latest market forecast, the actual land used for sourcing renewable feedstock for bioplastics will amount only to approximately 0.02% of the global agricultural area.

This is the conclusion of the latest market forecast which the industry association European Bioplastics publishes annually in cooperation with the Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hannover in Germany.

The forecast says the packaging market will remain the leading segment for bioplastics applications, with a growing range of mature applications.

It is predicting new solutions that contribute to reducing the dependency on fossil feedstock, to minimising the carbon footprint of packaging and that offer additional recovery and recycling options.

“Our market data update once more affirms above average growth in the bioplastics industry around the world”, said François de Bie, Chairman of the Board of European Bioplastics. “Continuous growth can be expected with regard to all bioplastic material types and in a range of very diverse market segments – from packaging to fibres to consumer electronics.”

By far the strongest gain is expected in the biobased, non-biodegradable bioplastics group. Biobased versions of bulk plastics like PE and PET1  in particular are significantly increasing capacities.

Biodegradable plastics are also demonstrating impressive growth rates, with production capacity expected to gain around 60% by 2017.