The trade association PlasticsEurope (Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticseurope.org) has released its most current business data for the global plastics industry at a recent press luncheon in London. The figures provide a statistical profile of the production, trade and use of plastics raw materials globally, across the 27 European Union member states as well as give country-by-country insight into highlights and trends.

According to their research, estimated demand for plastics materials in the EU 27 countries was 45.5m t in 2012, 3.2% lower than in 2011; packaging applications accounted for the largest proportion at 40.2% with building and construction at 20.8% and automotive at 8%.

Worldwide, the association’s 2012 data shows that despite continuous growth for more than 50 years, global plastics production fell at the close of 2008/start 2009, in the midst of global economic crisis, before rebounding over the last three years with some positive development leading to compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 8.7% on a global scale.

Describing the global recovery as slow, Kim Christiansen, a regional director at PlasticsEurope explained that the plastics industry “is optimistic that Europe remains a core centre of its activities, which is why it invests heavily in R&D to guarantee innovation and economic growth in the European Union.”

As for waste management data, the latest available information has been published in 2012, but refers to 2011 results. The highlight in this segment is characterised as continuing progress in recovery. The overall recovery rate for used plastics emcompassing both recycling and energy recovery in the EU 27 was 59.6%. For recycling specifically, the average European rate was 25.1%.