Sustainability Efforts Driving Bio-Based Polyethylene Terephthalate Usage

One of the most common plastics, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used in bottles, films, fibers, and other consumer goods. But the overuse of plastics and the fact that they are not biodegradable are leading to massive plastic pollution in the air, land, and sea. Plus, most of the discarded plastic is left to rot in the open, while a lot of it is burned, with only a fraction of it actually making it to a recycling facility.

Citing the rising concerns regarding plastic pollution, P&S Intelligence expects the bio-based PET market to grow to $8,682.6 million by 2023 from $3,917.4 million in 2017, at a healthy 14.7% CAGR between 2018 and 2023. Such plastic contains 70% purified terephthalic acid (PTA) derived from fossil fuels and 30% ethylene glycol derived from plant matter or biomass. This is why bio-based PET is fully biodegradable, recyclable, renewable, and compostable. Such bioplastics are answering the need for sustainable plastics, since mass-scale plastic recycling is yet to pick up and the demand for these materials is rising fast.

Apart from packaging, which is the largest consumer of this material, bio-based PET is used in numerous other industries, such as electronics, automotive, medical, textile, and horticulture. The demand for bio-based PET is expected to rise the fastest among automakers because of the growing usage of sustainable materials in dashboard components, seat covers, vehicle covers, and battery cases. One of the purposes this is being done is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

It has been found that 6 kg of carbon dioxide is emitted from 1 kg of synthetic plastic, which is contributing to global warming, thus stirring the consciousness of countries to do something about it. As a result, many nations have already introduced stringent laws to check GHG emissions and many more are following suit. For instance, the Energy Transition for Green Growth Law was implemented in France in 2015 to reduce GHG emissions by using lesser nuclear and fossil fuels than before, which is now boosting the usage of bioplastics.

Thus, with extensive R&D to keep GHG emissions in control and check plastic pollution, the usage of bio-based PET and other sustainable plastics will keep rising.

Read more: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/bio-based-pet-market