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(China in the
news) -- China last year overtook Europe as the world's largest
producer of plastics, with the eurozone slump continuing to deepen the divide, a
recent study shows.
According to the report carried out on behalf of the
industry's trade association, Plastics Europe, a two-percent cut in European
plastics jobs and continued company closures meant that the old continent lost
its pole position to China.
"The European Union has traditionally been an important net exporter
of plastics and plastic products. This trade balance grew by over 100 percent
between 2000 and 2010, reaching a total trade surplus of ?15.7 billion in 2010.
Despite a shrinking workforce and losing the number-one production position to
China, the European plastics industry continues to be a key contributor to EU
trade surplus," the report reads.
Europe accounted for 57 million tonnes
(22 percent) of the global consumption last year, while China claimed 23.5
percent of the world production of plastics. But the Asian country also
continued to import plastic raw material from Europe.
In a positive
development, the amount of recycled and recovered plastics in 2010 increased by
an average 9.3 percent year on year across the 27 EU countries, Norway and
Switzerland. This figure is equal to 58 percent of all used
plastics.
"The recycled quantity increased by 8.7 percent thanks to
stronger activity from citizens, packaging collection schemes and recycling
companies," the report notes, adding that the use of plastics in energy recovery
also increased by almost ten percent.
One of the most dreaded plastic
products for the environment - the ubiquitous plastic bag - is far from being on
the decrease and the EU is now reviewing whether it should lift dumping
restrictions on Chinese and Thai exporters. The measure was imposed in 2006 in
order to protect European plastic bag producers such as France's Groupe Barbier
and Spain's Plasbel.
When imposing the anti-dumping duties five years
ago, the EU said Chinese and Thai exporters increased their combined share of
the EU plastic-bag market to 18 percent in the 12 months through March 2005 from
14 percent in 2001.
mrcplast.com
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