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Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market Overview
The Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market size is forecast to reach US$ 20.2 billion by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period (2022-2027). Micro plastics refer to fragments of any type of plastic that are less than 5 mm in length. They can occur from multiple sources such as sewage treatment plants, automobile tires, cosmetics industry, clothing and other sources. These micro plastics can be categorized into multiple plastic types which include polyester, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene plastic and more. In 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for surgical masks as the primary medium of protection during the pandemic. A recent report from UNICEF stated that it had distributed around 301.3 million surgical masks and 22.2 million N95 respirators, which reached around 127 countries in 2020. Single-use face masks are primarily composed of polymers such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polyethylene, or polyester. Thus, an increase in consumption and littering of face masks resulted in an increase in micro plastics in the environment as such face masks could break down into smaller size particles upon degradation. This, in turn, increased the demand for remediation techniques to deal with the environmental problems associated with such micro plastics. Furthermore, an increase in the development of wastewater treatment facilities along with government regulations to counteract the effects of microbeads or micro plastics on the environment acts as major drivers for the market. On the other hand, the high cost of thermal waste treatment may confine the market growth.
Report Coverage
The “Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market –
Forecast (2022-2027)” by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the
following segments in the Environmental
Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Industry.
Key Takeaways
- Clothing segment in Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics industry held a significant share in 2021. According to a recent study on Polymer Degradation and Stability, various synthetic fibers which include polyester, nylon, acrylics and spandex, are usually shed from clothing which further breaks down into microbeads or micro plastics and persists in the environment.
- According to the recent insights published by the European Investment Bank, approx. 80% of the total micro plastic pollution in the environment usually occurs from textiles, automobile tires and city dust.
- North America dominated the Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics market share in 2021, owing to the stringent government policies and regulations to mitigate the detrimental effects of micro plastics on the environment.
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market Segment Analysis – by Source
The clothing segment held a significant portion of the Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics market share in
2021, owing to an increase in textile production across the world. For
instance, TreeToTextile
AB, invested EUR 35 million (US$ 41.4 million) for the development of a new
sustainable textile fiber manufacturing plant in Sweden in February 2021. A
recent article published on fibre2fashion states that Vietnam’s garment
manufacturing business accounts for around 70% of the majority of businesses.
It also states that the import of textiles and clothing by the United States
increased by 26.79 % up to US$41.689 billion during the initial five months of
2021. Likewise, the value of U.S. man-made fiber, textile and clothing
shipments reached about $64.4 billion in 2020. Furthermore,
the federal
government of African countries has launched multiple initiatives to build new
textile factories across the region in order to increase textile productivity
in the region. These initiatives aim at increasing the production of the
textile and clothing sector in Africa by 2030.
According to a recent study on Polymer
Degradation and Stability, each apparel or clothing in a laundry is capable of
shedding more than 1,900 fibers of micro plastics. Moreover,
the main fiber
that is commonly used throughout the textile industry is polyester, owing to
its lower costs and ease of manufacturing. However, these types of fibers are
considered to be one of the major sources of micro plastics affecting the
environment. Thus, an increase in clothing production is expected to increase
the demand for environmental remediation techniques to counteract the effects
of micro plastics released from such textile fibers. This, in turn, is expected
to drive the growth of the market in the upcoming years.
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market Segment Analysis – by Remediating Techniques
The physical techniques held the largest share
of around 33% in the Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics market share in 2021, owing to its increasing demand due to the benefits it offers
over other types of remediating techniques. Physical remediating techniques such
as adsorption and filtration, offers high flexibility, high-end product
quality and are relatively less expensive than other types of remediating
techniques. Moreover, it is capable of removing 90% to 100% of pathogens from
the waste sample. Furthermore, it is more energy-efficient and allows
filtration of any volumes of non-turbid liquid including microbeads and micro
plastics in comparison to other types of remediating techniques. Hence, all of
these benefits of physical techniques are driving its demand over other types
of remediating techniques, which in turn, is expected to boost the market
growth during the forecast period.
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market Segment Analysis – by Geography
North America held the largest share in the Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics market size in 2021 up to 35%. The consumption of remediation techniques for microbeads or micro plastics is particularly high in this region due to the stringent government policies and regulations to mitigate the detrimental effects of micro plastics on the environment. For instance, some states in the U.S have taken actions to ease the negative effects of micro plastics on the environment, among which, Illinois was the first state to ban the use of cosmetics containing micro plastics. Moreover, Microbead-Free Waters Act 2015, bans the use of cosmetic products in the U.S with an exfoliating function in order to prevent the release of microbeads into the water. In July 2018, the government of the U.S passed an amendment for the reduction of micro plastics. The act specifically aims at increasing testing, cleanup and education around micro plastic pollution in the aquatic environment. Hence, such government policies and regulations to deal with micro plastic pollution in the region are expected to increase the demand for remediation techniques for microbeads or micro plastics, thus, leading to the growth of the Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics market size during the forecast period.
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market Drivers
An increase in the development of wastewater treatment plants is most likely to increase demand for the product
According to recent studies published in the Journal
of Environmental Management, thermal treatment techniques are adopted in
the primary treatment of wastewater treatment plants that are capable of
removing 16.5% to 98.4% of micro plastics while the secondary treatment of
wastewater treatment plants has an overall efficiency of 78.1% to 100% for
removal of micro plastics. Moreover, the tertiary treatment is capable of
removing overall 87.3% to 99.9% of micro plastics. For instance, in April 2021,
Veolia Water Technologies began the development of a new wastewater treatment
plant in Genoa, Italy. The operation of the new facility is scheduled to begin
in 2023. In January 2022, Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW) announced the
development of its new wastewater treatment plant in the South of Al Mutlaa,
Kuwait. The development of the facility is scheduled to begin in the second of
quarter 2022 and is due delivery by the fourth quarter of 2025. Furthermore, in
December 2021, operations on the development of a new wastewater treatment
plant began in Morocco. The facility is scheduled to become operational in
2023. The facility will be able to treat 8 million cubic meters of wastewater
per year. In this way, such new development of wastewater treatment plants is
expected to increase the demand for micro plastics remediation techniques,
thus, accelerating the growth of the market in the upcoming years.
Government regulations to counteract the effects of microbeads or micro plastics on the environment are most likely to increase demand for the product
In 2018, the government of Japan passed a bill
with the aim of reducing micro plastic production and pollution in the country,
particularly in aquatic environments. The legislation specifically aimed at
reducing micro plastic and microbeads production in the personal care
industry. In the United Kingdom, the environmental protection (microbeads) regulations
2017 bans the production of personal care products containing microbeads. In
January 2019, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) passed a proposal to
restrict the intentional addition of micro plastics. Thus, such government
regulations to counteract the effects of microbeads or micro plastics on the
environment are expected to increase the demand for microbeads or micro
plastics remediation techniques. This is expected to drive the growth of the
market in the upcoming years.
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market Challenges
High cost of thermal waste treatment may confine the market growth
The treatment capacity of an individual
country is primarily dependent on its income. Well-developed countries that
have high income generally have a treatment capacity of over 70% of the
wastewater production whereas developing countries with low income have a
treatment capacity of around 8% only. Since liquid waste containing microbeads
or micro plastics can easily pollute the land and freshwater resources, it is
more difficult to collect and process in comparison to solid waste and it should
also be handled more carefully. Moreover, the adoption of thermal remediation
techniques in wastewater treatment plants becomes less efficient over a certain
period of time due to steady build-up within piping systems and requires
frequent maintenance that can be quite costly. Hence, the high cost associated
with the thermal waste treatment may confine the growth of the market.
Environmental Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Industry Landscape
Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D
activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Environmental
Remediation in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market. The top 10 companies in the Environmental Remediation
in Microbeads or Micro Plastics Market are:
- AECOM
- DEME NV
- Jacobs Engineering Group
- Tetra Tech, Inc.
- Fluor Corp.
- Golder Associates
- Brown and Caldwell
- Ocean Cleanup
- Ichthion
- The Great Bubble Barrier
Relevant Reports
Environmental
Remediation Market – Forecast (2022 - 2027)
Report Code: ESR 0359
Bioremediation
Technology & Services Market – Forecast (2021 - 2026)
Report Code: HCR 23281
Plastics
Market – Forecast (2021 - 2026)
Report Code: CMR 53040
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