United States (USA) Plastic Waste Management Market Research Report, 2028

The United States is one of the leading producers of plastic waste. Plastic recycling in the country is extremely low when compared to overall plastic waste generation. The majority of the plastic waste produced in the United States is exported to countries such as China, Hong Kong, Ecuador, Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, where it is recycled, processed for energy generation, or disposed of in landfills. Plastic waste management refers to methods and approaches used to reprocess plastic material rather than dumping it into landfills, waterways, or otherwise allowing it to pollute the environment. The reduced use of virgin plastic in product manufacturing is the most important factor promoting plastic waste management.

According to the research report “US Plastic Waste Management Market Research Report, 2028, published by Actual Market Research, the market was valued over USD 7 Billion in 2022. Plastic production is increasing as urbanisation and industrialization expand. The increase in the number of commercial venues such as malls, theatres, restaurants, hospitals, educational institutions, and others results in an increase in the amount of plastic waste, which eventually opens up more opportunities for the need for waste management. Additionally, raising awareness about plastic recycling and reprocessing waste materials are important factors in driving demand for plastic waste management. The awareness about plastic waste management has increased significantly with the progress in consumer education and rising awareness about health and environment. The growing population and the growing income levels of people have generated new opportunities for the plastic waste management industry.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) calculated the energy value of landfilled plastic waste in 2019 was enough to supply 5% of the power used by the country’s transportation sector or 5.5% by the industrial sector. NREL estimates the amount of plastic waste in the United States at 44 million metric tons. Using a slightly different methodology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts the figure at 32.2 million metric tons. The researchers noted that the amount of landfilled plastic waste in the United States has been increasing because of several factors, including low recycling rates, population growth, consumer preference for single-use plastics, and low disposal fees in certain parts of the country. The problem has been exacerbated by China’s refusal, beginning in 2017, to import nonindustrial plastic waste from the United States. The amount of plastic waste generated correlates with population size. California, Texas, and Florida are the three most populous states and also have the largest amount of landfilled plastic waste. New York, however, is fourth for population, but it ships much of its waste outside of the state.

The transportation sector used over 4% of plastic in the US, primarily in the production of new automobiles. Due to light weighting efforts and new applications of engineering resins, the use of plastics in automobiles has increased over the past several decades, representing 8.6% of the material weight of North American light vehicles in 2017. Over 95% of EOL vehicles in the US are recycled for their metal content. However, due to the large variety of plastics used in automobiles and the cost of collection, separation, and cleaning often exceeding that of virgin plastic materials, most automotive plastics end up in automotive shredder residue (ASR) and then go to landfills.

Based on the source, the plastic waste management market is segmented into residential, commercial, and industrial. During the forecast period, the industrial sector is expected to dominate the market for plastic waste management in the US due to an increase in industrialization and the packaging of the products. Because packaging has a very short life span, typically around 6 months or less, packaging of the product is one of the key factors that will dominate the market growth of the plastic waste management market in the US.

Based on end use, the plastic waste management market is segmented into building & construction, consumer products, electrical and electronics, industrial machinery, packaging, and automotive. The packaging segment is expected to dominate the plastic waste management market in the US due to the increasing demand for plastics for the packaging of products to protect, preserve, transport, and display information

Plastics are a rapidly growing segment of municipal solid waste (MSW). While plastics are found in all major MSW categories, the containers and packaging category had the most plastic tonnage at over 14.5 million tonnes in 2018. This category includes bags, sacks, and wraps; other packaging; polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and jars; high-density polyethylene (HDPE) natural bottles; and other containers. Manufacturers also use plastic in durable goods, such as appliances, furniture, the casings of lead-acid batteries, and other products.

The scarcity of treatment plants is one of the most serious issues confronting plastic waste management. Several manufacturing units and sources dump their plastic waste into bodies of water or on land; additionally, a lack of understanding of waste management infrastructure is a challenge for this market. Furthermore, plastic waste management is a capital-intensive process. Processing and treating waste necessitates skilled and motivated labour, which raises operating costs and reduces profit margins. This is expected to have a negative impact on market growth during the forecast period.

Considered in this report
• Geography: US
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• US plastic waste management  market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Source Type
• Residential
• Commercial & Institutional
• Industrial

By Service Type
• Collection and Transportation
• Recycling 
• Incineration
• Landfills

By End use
• Building and Construction
• Consumer Product
• Electrical and Electronics
• Industrial Machinery 
• Packaging
• Automotive 
• Others

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and listing out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual report of companies, analysing the government generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducted trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we have started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources. 

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to Plastic waste management, government bodies and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.