In today's era of sustainability, plastics have come under intense scrutiny for some of the very characteristics that have made them so useful: their durability and versatility. Like you, Freedonia knows that the story of plastics is much different than negative public sentiment implies. Plastics and other polymers can actually improve sustainability as much as we hear they detract from it, including by increasing the shelf-life of perishables and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.
Our reports analyze the true impact of plastics and polymers compared to other materials and provide you with key insights into how to take advantage of opportunities and mitigate threats to your business.
Simply put, polymers are a sythentic or naturally occurring substance that is made of many repeating units. Plastics are a type of polymer, and they can be shaped when soft and then hardened to retain a given shape.
US demand for post-consumer recycled plastic in packaging applications is forecast to rise rapidly to 2.8 billion pounds in 2025. However, the use of recycled plastic in packaging could be much higher if it were not constrained by supply. In order to produce enough recycled plastic to meet new ambitious recycled content targets, a number of changes to collection and processing need to be made, including improvements to municipal waste collection and plastic waste processing technologies.
The future of the plastic industry remains bright, as the versatility and properties of these products encourages their use in a wide variety of applications, many of which lack significant material competitions. The industry is undergoing a dynamic period of growth into new sources, including bioplastics, and development of new and improved ways to use and reuse these materials.
This report forecasts to 2028 US foamed plastic insulation demand in metric tons.
This report forecasts to 2028 global demand for foamed plastic insulation by product, market, and major world region in metric tons.
This report forecasts to 2028 foamed plastic insulation demand in metric tons in Europe.
Investments in water and sewar infrastructure and water distribution pipelines, expanding natural gas distribution systems, and the buildout of broadband communication networks in more rural areas will help drive plastic pipe demand through 2028.
This report forecasts to 2028 US thermoplastic resin demand and shipments in million pounds.
This report forecasts to 2028 US polystyrene resin demand and shipments in pounds and demand in nominal US dollars at the producer level. Total demand in pounds is segmented by form in terms of: crystal (solid), rubber-modified, and expanded.
This report forecasts to 2026 US plastic pipe demand in nominal US dollars at the manufacturer level.
This report forecasts to 2028 silicone demand in metric tons in China.
This report forecasts to 2028 silicone demand in metric tons in Europe.
This report forecasts to 2028 silicone demand in metric tons in the US.