How Will Government Initiatives Help Reduce Plastic Waste?

To contain air, land, and marine pollution, manufacturers, governments, and customers are changing their patterns of plastic consumption, recycling, remaking goods that are easily processable post-use, and overhauling the traditional lines of production, to generate a low volume of plastic waste. All this has been a result of the increasing awareness regarding the harmful impact of plastics worldwide. Due to these reasons, the recycled plastics market is set to advance at a CAGR of 8.5% between 2021 and 2030. At this rate, the market will swell from $59,777.3 million in 2021 to $124,314.1 million by 2030.

It is the fast-paced industrialization and commercialization that have led to an increase in the consumption of plastic products. Because of this rise in consumption, a high volume of plastic waste has been generated in recent past. As per National Geographic, since the 1950s, 9.2 billion tons of plastic has been generated, of which 6.9 billion tons are now waste. The problem is that of this, merely 1.6 billion tons has been sent for recycling, with an even smaller volume actually being recycled. To deal with the issue, governments across the world have imposed certain regulations on the use of plastic.

According to P&S Intelligence, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for the highest volume of plastic recycled, due to the large-scale import and availability of domestic waste. As per data by the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development, around 70% of plastic waste imported by APAC nations in 2016 was from high-income countries. In addition to this, cheap labor allows for smooth labor-intensive operations such as sorting, collection, and cleaning in APAC nations. Both these reasons assist in the development of small- and large-scale reprocessing facilities in India, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

As a result, the European recycled plastic market is expected to showcase rapid growth in the future. This can also be ascribed to the several steps taken by the government to increase local production, development of domestic recycling facilities, and targets of environmental sustainability that aspire to recycle plastic products across the supply chain. European countries are expanding the capacities of their recycling units to deal with the growing plastic waste in the region. 

Thus, a decline in the consumption of virgin plastic and increase in the number of recycling and reprocessing units are expected to drive recycling activities in the foreseeable future.

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Why Is Industrial Sector Shifting toward 3D Printing High-Performance Plastics?

The aerospace and aviation industries are increasingly using 3D printing high-performance plastics to produce aircraft components as they help in reducing weight, increasing strength, and developing complex and customized designs of such parts. The surging demand for aircraft to ferry a large number of passengers and extensive volume of goods will, therefore, create an extensive requirement for 3D printing high-performance plastics in the foreseeable future. With the soaring disposable income and worsening work-life balance, people are opting for air travel, owing to which the aerospace and aviation sectors are witnessing significant growth.

Moreover, the increasing shift of the industrial sector from traditional manufacturing to 3D printing is expected to contribute to the prosperity of the 3D printing high-performance plastics market during the forecast period (2021–2030). According to P&S Intelligence, the market generated around $73.5 million revenue in 2020. In comparison to traditional manufacturing, mass production through 3D technology is cheaper. Moreover, the deployment of 3D technology helps in the creation of complex shapes without additional costs and offers zero material wastage.

At present, end users are using polyamide (PA), polysulfone (PSU), polyetherimide (PEI), polyamide-Imide (PAI), reinforced high-performance plastic (HPP), polyethersulfone (PES), polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) to manufacture customized and complex components. In recent years, PA was consumed in the highest quantity due to exceptional shock resistance, stability, and rigidity exhibited by it. This 3D printing high-performance plastic is used in the production of medical prostheses, injection molds, and several components of aircraft, vehicles, and robots. 

The application segment of the 3D printing high-performance plastics market is classified into functional part manufacturing, prototyping, and tooling. Among these, the prototyping category generated the highest revenue in 2020, and it is projected to maintain its dominance in the forecast years as well. This can be ascribed to the ability of 3D printers to rapidly create multiple replicas of a design through product testing, thereby, saving a considerable amount of money and time in running the tests with a functional prototype.

Globally, the North American 3D printing high-performance plastics market generated the highest revenue during the historical period (2015–2020), and it is expected to continue witnessing this trend during the forecast years as well. This dominance can be ascribed to the increasing research and development (R&D) investment, owing to the surging focus of market players on technological advancements in the region. Besides, the flourishing automotive, aerospace, and robotics sectors will also contribute to the regional market growth. 

Thus, the expanding and aviation industries and the rising preference for 3D technology over traditional manufacturing will encourage the adoption of 3D printing high-performance plastics worldwide.

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