Biodegradable Plastic

US demand for biodegradable plastic will grow 15.5 percent annually through 2012. Gains will be driven by escalating costs for petroleum-based resins and growing initiatives that favor renewable resources. Polyester-based and polylactic acid resins will grow the fastest, while starch-based types remain the largest segment.

This study analyzes the 350 million pound US biodegradable plastic industry. It presents historical demand data (1997, 2002 and 2007) and forecasts for 2012 and 2017 by type (e.g., starch-based, polylactic acid, cellophane, polyester-based, photodegradable, polyvinyl alcohol), and market (e.g., packaging, nonpackaging film, fiber, medical).

The study also considers market environment factors, details industry structure, evaluates company market share and profiles 32 industry players, including NatureWorks, Innovia Films and ITW Hi-Cone.

Printer Friendly

TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE INTRODUCTION viii I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 II. MARKET ENVIRONMENT 4 General 4 Macroeconomic Overview 4 Consumer Income & Spending Trends 9 Demographic & Household Trends 11 Packaging Outlook 14 Plastic Film 18 Plastic Beverage Bottles 21 Plastic Foodservice Disposables 23 Loose-Fill Packaging 26 Manufacturers' Outlook 27 Agricultural Outlook 30 Manufactured Fiber Overview 32 Nonwoven Disposables Overview 34 New Developments 35 Capacity Additions 36 Thermoplastic Resin Outlook 37 Historical Trends 40 Pricing Trends 42 Solid Waste Management 44 Landfills 48 Recycling 48 Incineration 50 Composting 51 Degradability Standards 52 Regulatory & Legislative Environment 55 Plastic Recycling 57 International Activity 58 Europe 59 Japan 60 Other Countries 61 III. TYPES 63 General 63 Raw Materials 65 Biodegradable/Compostable Plastic 68 Starch-Based Plastic 70 Products 72 Producers 74 Polylactic Acid 75 Packaging 78 Fiber 81 Other Uses 83 Cellophane 84 Polyester-Based Plastic 88 Types 90 Producers 92 Other Biodegradable/Compostable Plastics 96 Photodegradable Plastic 97 Applications 99 Producers 100 Other Biodegradable Plastics 101 Polyvinyl Alcohol 102 Polyethylene Oxide & Other Types 104 IV. MARKETS 106 General 106 Packaging 107 Film 110 Ring Carriers 113 Biodegradable Loose-Fill 115 Foodservice 118 Molded & Other 120 Nonpackaging Film 122 Fiber 125 Bedding & Apparel 126 Other 127 Other Markets 128 Medical 129 All Other 131 V. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE 134 General 134 Market Share 136 NatureWorks 137 Innovia Films 137 ITW Hi-Cone 138 Novamont 138 Other Producers 139 Mergers & Acquisitions 141 Manufacturing Requirements 142 Research & Development 144 Marketing Strategies 146 Channels of Distribution 148 Competitive Strategies 150 Cooperative Agreements 151 Company Profiles 155 American Excelsior Company 156 Ampacet Corporation 157 AMYLEX Corporation 158 Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 159 BASF AG 160 BioBag International AS 162 BIOgroupUSA Incorporated, see BioBag International AS Cargill Incorporated 164 Celanese Corporation 166 Cereplast Incorporated 167 Cortec Corporation 169 DaniMer Scientific LLC 171 Dow Chemical Company 172 DuPont (EI) de Nemours 174 DURECT Corporation 176 Eastman Chemical Company 177 Free-Flow Packaging International Incorporated 179 Illinois Tool Works Incorporated 180 Innovia Films Limited 181 KTM Industries Incorporated 183 Kuraray Company Limited 184 Metabolix Incorporated 185 Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company Incorporated 187 NatureWorks LLC, see Cargill Incorporated and Teijin Limited Novamont SpA 188 Pak-Lite Incorporated 189 Perstorp AB 190 PGLA-1, see Cargill Incorporated Procter & Gamble Company 191 ReNewable Products Incorporated 192 Solae LLC, see DuPont (EI) de Nemours Solvay SA 193 StarchTech Incorporated 194 Storopack Hans Reichenecker GmbH 195 Teijin Limited 196 Telles LLC, see Archer-Daniels-Midland and Metabolix Wilkinson Industries Incorporated 198 LIST OF TABLES TABLE NUMBER PAGE SECTION I -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Summary Table 3 SECTION II -- MARKET ENVIRONMENT 1 Macroeconomic Indicators 9 2 Personal Consumption Expenditures 11 3 Population & Households 14 4 Packaging Shipments by Material 18 5 Plastic Film Demand 20 6 Plastic Beverage Bottle Demand 22 7 Plastic Foodservice Disposables: Resin Demand 25 8 Loose-Fill Packaging Demand 27 9 Manufacturers' Shipments 30 10 Agricultural Indicators 32 11 Manufactured Fiber Demand 33 12 Personal Hygiene Products & Consumer Wipe Demand 35 13 Thermoplastic Resin Demand by Type 39 14 Biodegradable Plastic Market, 1997-2007 41 15 Biodegradable Plastic Prices 44 16 Municipal Solid Waste Management by Process 47 SECTION III -- TYPES 1 Biodegradable Plastic Demand by Type 65 2 Biodegradable/Compostable Plastic Demand by Type 69 3 Starch-Based Biodegradable Plastic Demand by Use 72 4 Polylactic Acid Demand by Use 78 5 Polylactic Acid Demand in Packaging by Use 81 6 Polylactic Acid Demand in Fiber by Use 82 7 Polylactic Acid Demand in Other Uses 84 8 Cellophane Demand by Use 88 9 Polyester-Based Biodegradable Plastic Demand by Use 90 10 Other Biodegradable/Compostable Plastic Demand by Use 97 11 Photodegradable Plastic Demand by Use 99 12 Other Biodegradable Plastic Demand by Use 102 SECTION IV -- MARKETS 1 Biodegradable Plastic Demand by Market 107 2 Packaging Markets for Biodegradable Plastic by Type 109 3 Film Markets for Biodegradable Plastic 113 4 Ring Carrier Market for Biodegradable Plastic 115 5 Biodegradable Loose-Fill Packaging Demand 117 6 Biodegradable Foodservice Disposables Demand by Use 119 7 Molded & Other Packaging Markets for Biodegradable Plastic 122 8 Nonpackaging Film Markets for Biodegradable Plastic by Use 124 9 Fiber Markets for Biodegradable Plastic by Use 126 10 Other Markets for Biodegradable Plastic 129 SECTION V -- INDUSTRY STRUCTURE 1 US Biodegradable Plastic Sales by Company, 2007 135 2 Selected Acquisitions & Divestitures 142 3 Selected Cooperative Agreements 154 LIST OF CHARTS CHART NUMBER PAGE SECTION II -- MARKET ENVIRONMENT 1 Plastic Film Demand by Type, 2007 21 2 Thermoplastic Resin Demand by Type, 2007 39 3 Biodegradable Plastic Market, 1995-2007 41 4 Municipal Solid Waste Management by Process, 2007 47 SECTION III -- TYPES 1 Biodegradable/Compostable Plastic Demand by Type, 2007 70 SECTION IV -- MARKETS 1 Packaging Markets for Biodegradable Plastic by Type, 2007 110 SECTION V -- INDUSTRY STRUCTURE 1 US Biodegradable Plastic Market Share, 2007 137

Biodegradable Plastic

Purchase Biodegradable Plastic by the Section

Biodegradable Plastic

1 INTRODUCTION

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Table | BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC DEMAND (million pounds)

3 MARKET ENVIRONMENT

3.1 General

3.2 Macroeconomic Overview

Table | MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS (billion 2000 dollars)

3.3 Consumer Income & Spending Trends

Table | PERSONAL CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES (billion 2000 dollars)*

3.4 Demographic & Household Trends

Table | POPULATION & HOUSEHOLDS (million people)

3.5 Packaging Outlook

Table | PACKAGING SHIPMENTS BY MATERIAL (billion 2000 dollars)

3.5.1 Plastic Film

Table | PLASTIC FILM DEMAND (million pounds)

3.5.2 Plastic Beverage Bottles

Table | PLASTIC BEVERAGE BOTTLE DEMAND (billion units)

3.5.3 Plastic Foodservice Disposables

Table | PLASTIC FOODSERVICE DISPOSABLES: RESIN DEMAND (million pounds)

3.5.4 Loose-Fill Packaging

Table | LOOSE-FILL PACKAGING DEMAND (million pounds)

3.6 Manufacturers' Outlook

Table | MANUFACTURERS' SHIPMENTS (billion 2000 dollars)*

3.7 Agricultural Outlook

Table | AGRICULTURAL INDICATORS

3.8 Manufactured Fiber Overview

Table | MANUFACTURED FIBER DEMAND (billion 2000 dollars)

3.9 Nonwoven Disposables Overview

Table | PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS & CONSUMER WIPES DEMAND (billion units)

3.10 New Developments

3.11 Capacity Additions

3.12 Thermoplastic Resin Outlook

Table | THERMOPLASTIC RESIN DEMAND BY TYPE (million pounds)

3.13 Historical Trends

Table | BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC MARKET, 1997-2007

3.14 Pricing Trends

Table | BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC PRICES (dollars per pound)

3.15 Solid Waste Management

Table | MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT BY PROCESS (billion pounds)

3.15.1 Landfills

3.15.2 Recycling

3.15.3 Incineration

3.15.4 Composting

3.16 Degradability Standards

3.17 Regulatory & Legislative Environment

3.18 Plastic Recycling

3.19 International Activity

3.19.1 Europe

3.19.2 Japan

3.19.3 Other Countries

4 TYPES

4.1 General

Table | BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY TYPE (million pounds)

4.2 Raw Materials

4.3 Biodegradable/Compostable Plastic

Table | BIODEGRADABLE/COMPOSTABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY TYPE (million pounds)

4.3.1 Starch-Based Plastic

Table | STARCH-BASED BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

4.3.2 Polylactic Acid

Table | POLYLACTIC ACID DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

Table | POLYLACTIC ACID DEMAND IN PACKAGING BY USE (million pounds)

Table | POLYLACTIC ACID DEMAND IN FIBER BY USE (million pounds)

Table | POLYLACTIC ACID DEMAND IN OTHER USES (million pounds)

4.3.3 Cellophane

Table | CELLOPHANE DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

4.3.4 Polyester-Based Plastic

Table | POLYESTER-BASED BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

4.3.5 Other Biodegradable/Compostable Plastics

Table | OTHER BIODEGRADABLE/COMPOSTABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

4.4 Photodegradable Plastic

Table | PHOTODEGRADABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

4.4.1 Applications

4.4.2 Producers

4.5 Other Biodegradable Plastics

Table | OTHER BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC DEMAND BY USE (million pounds)

4.5.1 Polyvinyl Alcohol

4.5.2 Polyethylene Oxide & Other Types