Global plastic production currently stands at >350 million tonnes, of which Europe accounts for 16%, the USA 19% and Asia 51%. Awareness of what polluting our planet will entail encourages an unrestrained development of many innovations related to the problem of environmental pollution. The European Union and a number of other organisations have taken measures to reduce plastic pollution, such as the European Green Deal strategy and restrictions on the use of certain plastics, especially those for single use.
Major global companies are not indifferent to environmental issues, they actively support a range of innovations by planning and implementing breakthroughs in their products. Paboco with its paper bottle or DEMETO with its innovative technology for the industrial application of chemical treatment of polyester waste are not the only ones worth mentioning. With the commitment of large corporations to the process of improving environmental protection, the changes that will take place may lead to major changes on the markets in the near future.
The main strategies to tackle the polymer waste problem could include: recycling of waste (chemical and biological methods, processing of plastics into specific products), material recovery and plastic separation methods, alternative plastics such as bioplastics, etc. Global trends in the patent market as far as broadly understood plastic waste reduction is concerned, make it possible to identify areas where current efforts and funding are concentrated. They are at the same time an excellent guide as to which directions are worth pursuing. The situation on the patent market with regard to broadly defined plastic waste reduction is very dynamic. The number of patent documents in the area of recycling technologies in the global market was increasing steadily until 2020, which was largely driven by the Chinese market.
You can read more about the market of eco-friendly patents on our blog in article ‘The problem of plastics management – trends in the patent market’ by Maciej Stodulski, PhD. Read more >>