WASTE PLASTICS RECYCLING A GOOD PRACTICES GUIDE

BY AND FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Plastics consumption in Europe

The Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME) tracks the consumption of plastics
across Western Europe, and collects data on the waste plastics generation, recycling and recovery.
APMEs statistics are for Western Europe as a whole and have been derived according to methodologies agreed by independent consultants Taylor Nelson Sofres.
Consumption of plastics in Europe
Plastics consumption varies strongly from one European country to another (see Figure 5, below).
With per capita consumption at 127 kg/inh/y, the average Belgian consumes more than three times
more than a Greek (38 kg/inh/y). However, within the same country, regional differences are also
observed. For example in Spain, this plasticulture is highly developed in Andalusia, but not in the
north of Spain.
Figure 5: Plastics consumption in Europe

Source: Taylor Nelson Sofres - 2000 Data19

The proportion of post-user recycled plastic in production also varies strongly from a country to
another. Plastic transformers in Greece use 0.3 per cent post-user recycled materials, while in The
Netherlands they use 11.4 per cent. The EU 2000 average was 3.6 per cent.
When adjusted for imports and exports, average consumption
of plastics in Europe is 91 kg/inh/y (2000).

Plastics consumption in Europe by activity sector

Figure 6 presents the European consumption by application. Packaging is the main application for
plastics, with more than one third of the total used for these purposes (38.1 per cent, 14.5 Mt).
Earlier data from APME20 suggests that around 73 per cent ends up at the household whilst the
remaining 27 per cent is used as distribution packaging in industry. Packaging applications are
usually short-lived with the exception of packaging which is designed to be reused, such as pallets,
crates and drums.
Source APME (2003)21

19- Information System on Plastic Waste Management in Europe European Overview 2000 Data Taylor Nelson Sofres for APME March 2002
20- A material of choice for packaging - APME 1999
21- An analysis of plastics consumption and recovery in Western Europe 2001/2 APME Summer 2003

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WASTE PLASTICS RECYCLING A GOOD PRACTICES GUIDE

BY AND FOR LOCAL & REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Figure 6: Plastics consumption by sector

Domestic and building applications use similar quantities of plastics, 20 and 18 kg/inh/y, respectively. These are usually medium or long-term applications. The types of plastics encountered in
building applications are relatively restricted, while domestic products contain a wide variety of
plastics.
Electrical and electronic equipment (E&EE) applications, with plastics consumption of 6.5 kg/inh/y,
have a lifespan typically up to 15 years. Many composite elements (multi-material) are found in this
sector, so dismantling and recycling is a new challenge for many.
Similar quantities (6.5 kg/inh/y) are used for automotives. The plastics present in vehicles need to
be separated from the rest. As for E&EE, new techniques are being developed, in order to fulfil the
EU directive on ELVs.
Agriculture, with an average plastics consumption of 3 kg/inh/y appears as the least important
application. However, this sector uses products with typically short (or medium) term life spans,
such as films or packaging. There are very wide variations in consumption between different regions
and countries in Europe (for example, the use of plastic sheeting in greenhouses in the Spanish
region of Andalusia). These situations can involve sufficient material flows to justify producer
responsibility schemes.
Consumption of plastics by resin type
It is reasonable to assume that the most common plastics resins are also the most common waste
plastics. While all resins will become waste sooner or later and therefore require treatment, the
time-span over which this may occur is dependant on the type of product into which the polymer
is manufactured and the polymer itself.
Over 90 per cent of all PET manufactured is used as packaging, as carbonated drinks bottles for
example and therefore the majority of PET manufactured within a given year becomes waste in the
same year.

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