A report into sustainable packaging has said that global demand for packaging made from recycled plastic will grow by 10 per cent to $162 billion (£99 billion) by 2015.
The study by Freedonia says that demand for green packaging is projected to grow overall by 5.7 per cent per year to reach $212 billion (£129 billion).
However, growth in recycled packaging will be slowest out of all other sustainable packaging types as it is the most mature market.
The report said: “While recycled content packaging will remain by far the largest product type through the forecast period (to 2015) and beyond, this segment will see the slowest increases, due to the maturity of many products (eg metal cans and glass containers).”
Re-useable and degradable packaging is expected to show the fastest growth, but growth in recycled packaging will be supported by increased collection activity and processing capacity, coupled with greater use of recycled content packaging by companies wanting to demonstrate environmental practices.
The fastest growth in recycled packaging will be seen in Asia, especially India, China and Indonesia. Russia, Brazil and Mexico should also see healthy gains as will eastern European and African countries.
The North American and western European regions will see the slowest growth due to higher recycled packaging use already.
