European bio-plastics company said global bio-plastic capacity will increase from about 2.05 million tons in 2017 to about 2.44 million tons in 2022, and biopolymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) fast.
Constance Issbruecker, former director of the company's environmental association, said he expected the global bioplastics production capacity to reach 6.1 million tons by 2021, a big gap from the forecast.
Francoisde Bie, chairman of European bio-plastics company, said on Wednesday: 'The global bio-plastic market is expected to grow by 20% over the next five years. Government support and public awareness of environmental protection will all contribute to the expansion of the bio-plastics market.'
About 56% of bioplastics installations worldwide in 2017 produce bio-based plastics but are not biodegradable plastics, including bio-based polyethylene, bio-based polyethylene terephthalate and bio-based polyamides.
Packaging is still the largest area of application for bioplastics, with nearly 60% (1.2 million tonnes) of the market in 2017. Asia is a major producer of bioplastics and currently accounts for more than 50% of the market, with Europe accounting for 20% of production but up to 2022 This ratio will rise to 25%.
'Bioplastics will gradually meet the market demand in the coming days as many chemical company companies have invested a lot of money and energy into the development of recycling-based bio-based products.'