The figures ofthe plastics industry

The "Plastics - The Facts 2012" study on the European plastics industry published every year by PlasticsEurope, EuPC (European Plastics Converters), EuPR (European Plastics Recyclers) and Epro (European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations), has recently been published. In brief, the study reveals first and foremost that the global plastics industry was not immune to the economic-financial crisis that began in 2008 and aggravated in 2009, but which in the two year period 2010-2011 recorded a consistent and uninterrupted recovery. In 2011, global production of plastics grew by approximately 10 million tons (+3.7%) to a total 280 million tons (58 million of which in Europe).
As far as the European Union is concerned, the plastics industry employs 145 million people, including 53,000 in the machinery and equipment sector. In 2011, plastics manufacturers recorded a 0.3% increase in their revenues to 89 billion euro, and processors did better still, recording a 1.9% growth since 2010, for a total of nearly 194 billion euro. In terms of demand, the six main commodities - PE, PP, PVC, PS, PET and PUR - account for approximately 80% of the market. Polyethylene shows the best results (29%), followed by polypropylene (19%) and PVC (11%), but PA had the best growth rate with a 8% increase. The outlet markets included packaging, which absorbed 39% of the plastics, followed by the construction industry (20.5%), the automotive industry (8.3%) and electrical and electronic components (5.4%). Recycling data shows that in 2011, 25.1 million tons of waste plastic was collected, 10.3 million of which ended up in landfills and 14.9 million was reused.