The main types of waste plastics are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other general plastics; There are other waste plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane (PU) and ABS. At the same time, there are some waste plastics such as transition materials and scraps in the processing of plastic products.
China is an important producer of plastic products, from 2011 to 2016, China's plastic products production increased year by year, 2017 began to decline, in 2018 China's plastic products output of 60.421 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 19.60%; In 2019, the growth rate of China's plastic products production rebounded sharply to 35.45%, exceeding 80 million tons in one fell swoop, the highest in history. In 2022, the output of the national plastic products industry will be 77.72 million tons, down 4.3% year-on-year.
Figure 1: Production and growth rate of plastic products in China from 2011 to 2022 (10,000 tons, %)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Weber Consulting
In recent years, the overall amount of domestic waste plastic recycling has remained stable. In 2014, the national waste plastic recycling volume was 20 million tons, and in 2019, the domestic waste plastic recycling volume was about 18.9 million tons, an increase of 600,000 tons or 3.3% over 2018.
In 2022, China's waste plastic recycling volume was 18 million tons, 1 million tons less than in 2021, down 5.3% year-on-year. Although the overall decline in recycling volume, thanks to the increase in the value of some recycled plastic products, the output value of waste plastic recycling in China in 2022 will be 105 billion yuan, the same as in 2021.
Figure 2: Recycling volume and growth rate of waste plastics in China from 2011 to 2022 (10,000 tons, %)
Source: China Material Recycling Association, Weber Consulting
Among them, the total amount of waste PET recycling reached 6 million tons, accounting for the largest proportion (1/3) of the total waste plastic recycling; Waste packaging film (excluding express packaging) recycled 3.3 million tons, accounting for 18%, ranking second; The amount of waste plastics recycled from electrical and electronic products was 1.65 million tons, accounting for 9%; The amount of automobile waste plastic recycling was 1.1 million tons, accounting for 6%; 650,000 tons of waste plastics for express packaging, accounting for 4%; The amount of waste plastic recycled from uncertain sources was 4 million tons, accounting for 22%.
Chart 3: Amount and proportion of plastic waste recycled by source in 2022 (10,000,%
Source: China Material Recycling Association, Weber Consulting
From the perspective of the proportion of waste plastic recycling of different varieties, waste PET accounted for about 33%, waste PE accounted for about 22%, and waste PP accounted for about 21%, constituting the main component of waste plastic recycling.
Figure 4: Changes in the proportion of recycled amounts of different types of plastic waste from 2021 to 2022
Source: China Material Recycling Association, Weber Consulting
For more comprehensive data and in-depth research on the comprehensive utilization of waste plastic resources, please pay attention to Weber Consulting's official website or public account to view the "2023 China Waste Plastic Resources Comprehensive Utilization Industry Special Research and In-depth Analysis Report" exclusively released by Weber Consulting.