The plastics industry in España:séptima in consumption, ninth in production
ANAIP, Spanish Confederation of Employers of plastics, is a non-profit professional organisation, constituted by the integration of the business entities of the sector and with national territorial field. It represents to the industry of the sector in Spain and is one of the main sources of information of data on the sector of the plastics in our country. Precisely, the following article has realised in base to the data on the sector with which explains.
The sector of the plastics in Spain is a sector in heave and besides one of the basic industries of our economy. His importance reflects in that it represents the 2,2 percent of the Gross Inner Product in our country, and the 26 percent inside the chemical industry. This sector experienced the year happened a growth of the 7,9 percent. A total of 3.600 companies, and 80.000 workers that in 1996 reached a turnover of 1,6 trillion pesetas. The increase of the exports and especially of the consumption of plastics have contributed notably to attain this figure.
Regarding our position with the rest of the countries, Spain occupies a place stood out since it finds between the ten in which this industry is more developed. Specifically, it occupies the seventh place in consumption and the ninth in production of plastics. The results of the consumption of plastics in 1996 have supposed that for the first time in the history have surpassed to France and Great Britain. Inside the distinct markets, Spain stands out for occupying the 4º place in the world in the sector of the agriculture and the first in the one of the furniture.
Exports
Achieve export the prime matter or the products transformed of plastics is a big attainment for the sector. The efforts devoted by all the industry have given like result that in 1996 exported a total of the 1.617.000 tonnes of material, significant figure if it compares with the one of 1985 when the export hardly surpassed the half million of tonnes of plastics. The exports continue with a good rhythm in 1997, so much of plastic products like industrial products and of products of consumption that carry incorporated plastics. In the three first months of this year has produced an increase of 31,8% of the exports of products finished regarding the three first months of the previous year.
According to ANAIP, "the effort that is doing the industry of the plastics for entering his products in other countries reflects in the figures of the exercise happened with the strong impulse that have experienced the exports, especially the ones of transformed of plastics". Likewise, the sector, that produced the year happened a total of 2.724.000 tonnes of material has a boundless technological capacity for the production and back transformation of these materials. In 1996 attending so much to the internal market and to the exports, the industry of the plastics used only a 83 percent of the total of his capacity of production.
Consumption
The consumption is also another important factor to take into account to the hour to analyse the good moment that crosses this industry. In the last ten years, the consumption of plastics in Spain has duplicated, happening of 1.525.000 tonnes to surpass the 3 million tonnes. The Spaniards consumed in 1996 a total of 74 kilos of plastics of plastics to the year per person, six more than in 1995 in that the half consumption was of 68 kilos. This figure contrasts with the one of Germany in where they consume 114 kilos of plastics, very above the quantity consumed in our country and with Colombia where the consumption situates in 23 kilos by inhabitant. From 1955, in that it began to commercialise the first plastic in Spain, the industry of the sector has happened to produce 9.000 tonnes to 2.724.000 tonnes in the actuality.
Types of plastic
In the actuality on the 30 types of plastics industrialised and commercialised,
the most used in Spain are the policloruro of vinyl, of the that each inhabitant consumed the past year 11,84 kilos, the polietileno of high density with 11,01 kilos, the polipropileno and the polietileno of low density, both with a per capita consumption of 10,6 kilos, the poliestireno with 5,25 and finally 2,04 kilos of PET.
The plastics are presents in all the industrial states and social. In the actuality are indispensable for the development of determinate sectors like the one of the agriculture, the health, the telecommunications or the transport. The total of the first plastic matters consumed in the country distribute according to the sectors: the one of containers represents 36%, the one of the construction 11%, the furniture 9%, the industry of the car 7%, the agriculture 5%, the electrical sector 5%, the textile and the footwear 4% and the tails and adhesive 4%.
However, the consumption of plastics by sectors varies according to each community. For example, in Andalucia the sector of the agriculture is the main consumer of plastics. Specifically, this region occupies the first place in the world regarding the application of plastics in the agriculture. In some zones of this community the utilisation of these materials has allowed triplicar the production of the harvests. The past year allocated 146.000 tonnes at first plastic matters for the manufacture of products of plastics, with destination to the agricultural sector.
Containers and packagings
But the protagonists by excellence, in this moment, are the containers and plastic packagings. Given the weight of this sector inside the distinct markets in Spain, the industry has purchased the responsibility to collaborate at all times in the plans that establish for the management of the waste of plastic containers.
In Spain manufacture every year roughly 1 million of tonnes of containers and plastic packagings. The plastics represent a 36 percent inside the market of containers and packagings. The main sectors to which allocate the containers and plastic packagings are the domestic, with a total of 600.000 tonnes and the commercial/industrial with 400.000 tonnes. The bottles, stock exchanges, trays, tarrinas, blísters, glasses of an only use, etc., belong to the domestic sector of the plastic containers more consumed, and the film, the sacks, melt, boxes, drums and packagings to the industrial state.
Inside the total of containers and packagings of plastic the bottles represent 28%, the stock exchanges and sacks 27%, the film 21%, the plates 9%, and the drums, boxes and caps a 10 percent.
The main plastics with which manufacture the containers and packagings are the polietileno of high density, that represents 31%, the polietileno of low density 24%, the PET and PVC a 8,5 % and poliestireno 9%, and the polipropileno 7%.
For ANAIP, "the industry has achieved important attainments in the history with the manufacture of plastics. However, the responsibility of the sector does not finish here but it has to arrive to the end engaging to collaborate in the process to give a second life to the plastics".
Spanish Confederation of Employers of plastics
