Growth Opportunities in the Circular Economy of Plastic Packaging Recycling in LATAM

Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation and Recycling Targets Drive Investments in Recycling Infrastructure and the Transition to a Circular Economy

Latin America faces waste management problems, specifically plastic packaging waste - with annual volumes estimated to be nearly 13.1 million tonnes in 2022 and forecasted to reach 19.7 million tonnes by 2030. As recycling rates in the region do not exceed 10%, the consequences of plastic packaging become evident in the high levels of plastic in landfills, soil, and water. Marine pollution by plastics increases and different governments and organizations already work to find a solution, especially in the context of new transformative megatrends such as sustainability and the circular economy. Plastic recycling rates will increase by up to 16% in the region by 2030 but finding solutions to minimize the generation of virgin plastic, incorporating recycled materials into production, and innovation in recycling technologies will be the focus of the next five years.

This study identifies the companies to watch in the Latin American plastic packaging recycling industry and provides an analysis of the factors that will drive and restrain its growth, with a special focus on the segments of collection and handling, recycling, and landfill for plastic waste. Additionally, it provides revenue forecasts and forecast analyses and determines the growth opportunities that will emerge from this space that market participants can leverage. The Latin American plastic packaging reuse and recycling industry is estimated to be $1.05 billion in 2022 and is expected to register a 9.5% CAGR by 2030. The base year is 2022, and the forecast period is 2023 to 2030.