Recycling and sustainable development are an eternal theme. To survive, the plastics industry must adapt to this trend.
This is the main content of a recent report by Citibank Market Researcher, Rethinking Disposable Plastics. The researchers used a large number of pictures to describe the pros and cons of plastic, paper, metal and glass for packaging, but not Make a positive suggestion.
The impact of packaging is huge. In the trillion dollar global plastics market, packaging accounts for about 45%. Only 14% of plastic packaging is recycled and reused. Recycling and sustainability issues have been debated in North America and Europe for many years. The ban on the import of waste plastics since 2017 has caused the debate to become more urgent. The recycling industry in China has accounted for about half of the global trade volume at its peak. When China began to ban the import of waste plastics last year, it was abandoned on the international market. The price of plastics has fallen into a trough, and the mountains of waste are looking for a place to go.
China's actions have accelerated the process of prohibiting and restricting the use of disposable plastics in countries around the world. Similar restrictions have also caused a series of repercussions. For example, the American Chemistry Council Plastics Branch urged that all plastic packaging must be recycled for reuse by 2040. Europe All plastic packaging is required to be recyclable or recycled by 2030.
Citi's researchers have proposed a multi-channel approach to meeting recycling and sustainability requirements.
Standardized pricing mechanisms help plastics recycle and trade. Waste-to-fuel technology also increases recycling rates because it provides a stable and efficient market for waste plastics. The use of wireless frequency markers on plastic packaging facilitates sorting and recycling. Large plastics And chemical companies have the ability to propose innovative approaches and are introducing polymer materials to compete with traditional plastics and other materials.
Degradable plastics have been around for 20 years, but they are still in infancy. The good news is that these plastics can decompose in half a year, similar to the decomposition time of other compostable materials such as paper.
Citi researchers cited a study that showed that the demand for degradable polymer materials will increase by 9% per year over the next three years in 2017. The ability of polymer materials to reduce carbon emissions will increase public access to materials. Acceptance, its carbon credit can offset its high cost. Consumer habits and legislation will also help people accept higher cost polymer materials. Currently there are 1 million tons of biodegradable plastics in the world.
The report also proposes plant-based raw materials as another solution, especially for PET bottles. Plant-based raw materials promote sustainable development and ensure that PET can compete with traditional materials in terms of performance. The Coca-Cola Company is convinced that it is planned to reach 2020. This year's Coke bottles will all use this material, in 2015 the proportion is only 30%.
Researchers believe that mergers in the packaging industry are also conducive to plastic competition. Large companies are more able to develop new packaging solutions, manufacturing and transportation efficiency will also increase. Mergers usually reduce costs, especially resin procurement costs, while resin accounts for 50% of the cost of plastic packaging products.
The merger and reorganization of the packaging industry is on the rise. The biggest recent case is the acquisition of Bima by Amco. However, the current production of the plastic packaging industry is extremely fragmented. The top four companies account for about 28% of the entire industry market, while glass packaging. The first four companies accounted for 95% of the total, and the top four producers of beverage cans accounted for 90% of the total market.
Plastics processing industry mergers and acquisitions are more difficult than companies that rely on traditional materials. Plastic packaging involves a variety of media, from film to box and bottle trays, while glass and metal packaging items are relatively narrowly applied. Although innovative and scale Conducive to continued mergers, but researchers predict that there will be small niche companies in the plastics industry.
Resin producers can play a key role in protecting plastics demand. Many companies have introduced polymer materials based on sustainable environmentally friendly raw materials. New resins offer more opportunities to reduce the weight of items.
Some resin companies, especially European companies, have acquired recycling companies to supplement the gap in demand for raw resins. For example, LyondellBaser recently acquired a 50% stake in Quality Circular Polymers, a plastic recycling company based in the Netherlands.
Cost and performance
In the plastic packaging industry's four sides, traditional materials suppliers are also eager to regain lost market share. Many applications are actually a cost and performance contest, no obvious winner.
In the disposable soft drink and other beverage markets, aluminum may regain market share. The advantage of aluminum is that it has a good recycling record. The recoverable content of aluminum beverage cans is 70%, while PET can only recover 3%. Glass can only be recycled. twenty three%.
Bottles larger than 24 ounces face less threat than small-capacity bottles. Europe is now more dependent on PET bottles than the US, and PET's market share may be eroded.
PET has basically replaced the position of glass in the carbonated soft drink market, and currently has a 50% market share in the US beverage market. Plastic caps and the like may be replaced by metal. About 73% of the caps are made of plastic, mainly polypropylene. Rare, because its recovery performance is better.
For high-end and niche applications, glass poses a threat to plastics, such as cosmetics. Glass-bottled products are considered to be superior in quality to plastic-bottled products. However, glass also has its disadvantages, namely, fragility, which is inherently heavy and unfavorable for recycling.
The one-time hot and cold drink cup is another battlefield in the field of sustainability and recycling. Citi's research shows that the current victory or defeat is not divided. The use of polystyrene cups has dropped by 3% or more per year, and paper cups have the largest share in the US market. , accounting for 52%, but some beverage suppliers have added a layer of polyethylene coating inside the paper cup, which makes the recycling company very crazy.
Protective packaging is another area where plastics may be lost. In the United States, only 15% of plastic film is recycled. In recycling, paper packaging is better than plastic. Flattened kraft paper can replace some foam packaging - current e-commerce The main material for packaging.
However, plastic stretch film is less likely to be replaced. This film is mainly used in the manufacturing and sales fields that do not cause consumption environment problems. Compared with metal strips, plastic film has obvious cost advantages. New stretching technology and Compared to conventional rotary packaging, the amount of plastic used is reduced, and about 70% of the stretched film is used for palletizing in transportation.
The 'paper or plastic' battle for shopping bags will continue, and each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. The United States consumes 30 billion plastic shopping bags a year, while paper bags only consume 10 billion.