The Future of Plastic Packaging

Plastic Packaging: Market Outlook

With a turnover of over €40 billion plastic packaging is market leader and represents 40% of the total packaging market turnover. Between now and 2016, market share will grow in both the flexible and rigid packaging sectors, with the food sector being the biggest end-use sector with around 17 million tonnes in 2016 globally.

Part of the rising consumption is offset by light-weighting in rigid articles and reducing film thickness, basically doing more with less and becoming more resource efficient. In addition, the average plastic packaging weight has been reduced by almost 30% over the last ten years without compromising either strength or durability.

Opportunities for greater use of plastic packaging are clear in the food sector.

The resources required to produce food outweigh by far those needed to manufacture the packaging. But saving food should not only be among our priorities from an environmental point of view, but from an ethical one as well. Where we do see that more effort is required is at the end-of-life: no packaging, be it plastic or other, should end up in landfills.

Innovations for the future will extend the shelf life for food thereby extending its availability to the consumer when purchased and stored at home. Breathable and modified atmosphere packaging are already on the market for fruit, vegetables fish and meat that contribute greatly to Food Waste reduction; a critical consideration with global population increases and the food demands this increase will place on our environment and resources. Packaging is crucial for the reduction of food waste along the food chain.

Plastics are lightweight, durable and resistant to a wide range of environments. Greater protection of goods can be offered with thin-walled plastic packaging compared to other materials and still maintain their strength. Plastics' lightweight means that less energy is required in order to transport a same batch of packed goods.

Plastic packaging has an advantage over other materials when it comes to resource efficiency: if plastic packaging were replaced by alternative materials, the related energy consumption would double, GHG emissions would nearly triple and packaging waste in tonnes would nearly quadruple.

Plastic packaging is recyclable. When recycling is not possible their high net calorific content means it can be used for advanced thermal recovery thereby displacing virgin fossils fuels.

Bioplastics still occupy a niche of the plastics market in Europe, but it is growing. Carrier bags in non-biodegradable plastics are now being phased out in Italy by law, and bags in biodegradable materials are taking their place. Other European countries could follow suit. The European Commission is now assessing options to reduce single-use plastic carrier bags across the EU. At the moment, there are numerous local initiatives ongoing to boost bioplastics production in Europe. In Sardinia, for example, Italian energy company Eni, through its chemicals subsidiary Versalis has formed Matrica, a “green chemistry” joint venture with Novamont, where new production facilities will be established for bio-based monomers, intermediates for elastomers and plastics, and fillers.