What are the key sustainability challenges facing the plastic components industry?

Read time: 7 minutes | Updated on: 6 April 2022

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The growth of the injection molded plastics industry shows no sign of slowing down. Despite the impact of COVID-19, demand is expected to drive a growth of 4.2% up to 2028.

Many plastics industry leaders recognize that, to prepare the sector for the future, it needs to significantly reduce its environmental impact. To do so, it will need to overcome some considerable operational challenges. This article will examine these and how the industry is working to solve them. It will cover:

Why is the plastics industry looking to improve its sustainability?

Thanks to its flexibility, efficiency and cost-effectiveness, the injection molding of plastic components has grown to become a huge part of the global plastics industry. However, concerns have been raised by consumers, businesses and governments as to the environmental impact of this process.

According to the World Life Fund Australia, by 2050, researchers estimate that the production and incineration of plastic could rise to 2.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere.

This means, alongside the rest of the industry, injection molding manufacturers are coming under increased scrutiny and pressure by both legislators and consumers to make their processes more sustainable.

Supporting better practice

A recent survey by TOMRA found that 80% of consumers want to see a reduction in plastic packaging, with even more respondents seeking a move away from single-use plastics towards more renewable alternatives. Similarly, worldwide governments are putting legislation and financial controls such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies in place to speed up the shift towards more sustainable operations.

EPRs make businesses accountable for the cost of disposing consumer products in an environmentally way at the end of their life. They are increasingly being used to address the high levels of plastic and packaging waste. This means manufacturers now need to pay for the collection, sorting and recycling of products after use, as well as helping to raise awareness of the environmental impact amongst their customers.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has a National Recycling Goal which aims to increase the national recycling rate to 50% by 2030 and its strategy to achieve this includes standardizing measurement, increasing data collection, and improving materials management infrastructure.

There are many business benefits manufacturers are experiencing after taking steps to become more sustainable, including greater:

Productivity and efficiency – to make operations greener, manufacturers first need to find where any inefficiencies lie and fix them. This helps to optimize energy usage, reduce costs and improve production efficiency.
Safety – as well as optimizing production, reviewing manufacturing operations help to make them safer too.
Innovation – in some cases, making operations more efficient may require some creative solutions and new technologies, which brings about new innovations in the production process.
Resilience – by improving the sustainability and efficiency of operations, manufacturers can help to make their business more resilient against future market changes.
Market share and growth – increasing production efficiency means better customer service and product offering, which in turn leads to an increased presence in the market.
Brand value and reputation – as consumers become more aware of their purchasing choices, they’ll opt to buy products from more sustainable manufacturers.

However, despite these advantages, becoming truly sustainable holds plenty of challenges for manufacturers which they need to work to overcome.

What are the sustainability challenges facing the plastics industry?

Each manufacturer has specific challenges in making their operations more efficient and sustainable. However, there are a few that are common amongst industry leaders – the unsustainability of plastic raw materials, the inefficiency of injection molding manufacturing and the environmental impact of plastic waste.

Unsustainability of feedstocks

Plastics are made up of carbon molecules. This means carbon sources are used to create each type of plastic. As a result, fossil fuels such as gas and petrol have historically been used as the main feedstock for plastics manufacturing.

With 98% of single-use plastics being produced from fossil fuel ‘virgin’ feedstock and 19% of the global carbon budget predicted to be a result of fossil fuel plastics by 2040, plastic production has a huge environmental impact. Therefore, to improve the sector’s sustainability and resilience, it needs to reduce its dependence on these unsustainable feedstocks.

Inefficiency of manufacturing processes

Injection molding is a highly energy intensive process. Indeed, within an injection molding manufacturer’s operation, 66% of the energy is taken up by polymer processing, the majority of which will be used by the injection molding machines themselves. This energy is mainly used to heat the plastic before the process and to complete the molding cycle.

Injection molding manufacturers often operate for 24 hours, with many running their production lines with legacy equipment, including less efficient hydraulic machinery. This all leads to excess energy usage, particularly in unoptimized injection molding operations.

Environmental impact of plastic waste

More than 60 years of mass production has led to the creation of 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic products. With only 12% of this waste being incinerated, 79% ends up in landfill or the natural environment. Taking more than 400 years to decay, this waste litters the oceans and poses a great danger to birds, marine life and fish.

Plus, the problem with plastic waste is only set to increase, with 12 billion metric tons estimated to be in landfill by 2050. This has led environmental groups, governments and consumers to become more conscious of their contribution to plastic waste.

Person with back turned to camera looking at bags of plastic

How is the industry working to overcome these challenges?

Although these are significant challenges to overcome, the plastics industry is taking action to improve their sustainability and reduce their environmental impact.

Developing less impactful plastics

A recent report from the US found the emissions of the plastic sector in a year to be equivalent to that produced by 116 coal-fired power plants. It also estimated that the pollution levels would be more than those produced by coal in the US by 2030.

This carbon impact is, in the main, caused by using fossil fuels as the raw materials for plastic products, including single-use products such as packaging, disposable cutlery or consumer products. By developing plastics that use sustainable feedstocks, the industry can immediately reduce its environmental impact and move towards carbon neutrality.

There are a variety of sustainable plastics currently under development, including:

Bio-based plastic – plastics that are made from raw materials wholly or partially from natural, renewable feedstocks. This can include vegetable fats and oils, sugar cane, corn starch, woodchips and microorganisms. As well as having less impactful sources, bio-based plastics can usually be recycled or composted.
Biodegradable plastic – these plastics can be broken down gradually by living organisms into natural elements such as biomass (compost), carbon dioxide and water or methane. Although the time these products take to degrade varies, it means they have a significantly reduced impact on the environment, including being less dangerous to animals and not releasing harmful chemicals into water or soil.
Cellulose-based bioplastic – made from the substance found in plant walls, they are often manufactured from softwood trees. Their material characteristics mean cellulose-based plastics can be used in a similar way to thermoplastics, including in injection molding processes.
Compostable bioplastic – compostable plastics can be broken down by living organisms in a similar way to biodegradable plastics, but they are also made of completely organic matter. This means they can be broken down completely by living organisms in a relatively short time e.g. six months.
Starch-based bioplastic – by combining starch with biodegradable or compostable plastics, manufacturers can create a water resistant, relatively strong and heat tolerant plastic material. These plastics also have good processing and mechanical properties. Plus, starch-based films are increasingly used for food and product packaging.

As the development of these types of plastics continues, they’ll become significantly cheaper and better able to meet the needs of manufacturers and consumers.

Transitioning to electric machinery

Up until the late 1990s, hydraulic injection molding machines were the model of choice. As well as using huge amounts of hydraulic oil (which is from a non-renewable source and is difficult to dispose of sustainably), these machines were difficult for operators and manufacturers to control and produce consistent quality products from efficiently.

Although more modern hydraulic models were shown to be 25% more efficient than their older counterparts, all-electric machines raise this figure to up to 80%. As a result, many manufacturers, including Essentra Components, are currently undergoing gradual machine replacement programs to switch from inefficient hydraulic models to all-electric ones.

This has several benefits, including:

Being able to source (electrical) energy from more sustainable sources, such as wind, solar or nuclear power.
Giving manufacturers and operators more control over the heating of plastic and the molding cycle process, two areas which use the most energy during production.
Enabling tighter production controls, which in turn means higher productivity, less waste and increased efficiency.

Although moving away from legacy machinery may be a long process, these operational and environmental advantages make it essential for businesses looking to improve their sustainability.

Becoming part of the circular economy

Established and promoted by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, a circular economy is where businesses work to remove all waste and pollution from their operations, keep products and materials in use for as long as possible and regenerate natural systems.

Predicted to be worth $4.5 trillion in the next 15 years, there are significant financial advantages to businesses following the circular economy model, with a 30% increase in productivity predicted to drive a 0.8% increase in GDP. For manufacturers to feel the financial and environmental benefits of developing an effective circular economy, they need to focus on key elements of their operations, such as:

The end of life for products and materials – this is when a product or material becomes no longer useful and must be disposed of. Each stage of the waste hierarchy should be considered and worked through before this stage is reached. If a product or material then does need to be disposed of, it can be done so in landfill or via incineration, recycling, reusing or reprocessing.
Pre-consumer waste – these are any materials that have not yet been sent out to customers. They can involve excess materials or stock and defective products. Within the circular economy model, pre-consumer waste will either be reintroduced into the production cycle or sold onto a third party.
Post-consumer waste – these are the products or materials that have been sent out to and even used by customers. These can fall under a manufacturer’s ERP responsibilities and need to be collected and disposed of in a responsible way to prevent them filling up space in landfill.

By performing a lifecycle assessment on materials or products, manufacturers can get an accurate idea of their carbon impact and areas where it could be improved. This involves starting from the source of the product and its raw materials (cradle) and working through its whole lifecycle until its end-of-life disposal (grave) to identify areas that could be targeted in a sustainability plan or strategy.

How Essentra Components is manufacturing more sustainably

As a responsible member of the plastics industry, Essentra Components recognizes and regularly takes action to improve the sustainability of its operations. From setting ambitious targets to taking steps as part of an international environmental strategy, Essentra Components contributes to making the plastics industry more sustainable by:

Becoming a signatory of the European Commission’s CPA. This means increasing the use of recycled polymer raw materials to help boost the European recycled plastics market to 10 million tons by 2025.
Improving energy efficiency through measures such as installing LED lighting and increasing site insulation.
Exploring innovative, energy efficient projects, such as all-electric and hybrid presses.
Aiming for a 25% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025.
Making any direct operations carbon neutral by 2040.
Ensuring all sites are Zero Waste To Landfill certified by 2030.
Reducing total waste production by 20% by 2030.
Sourcing 20% of packaging and polymer raw materials sustainably by 2025.

Alongside other leaders in the plastics industry, Essentra Components recognizes the impact products and materials have on the environment and is taking action to protect the sector and wider world for future generations.