The North America and Europe bioplastics market was valued at approximately USD 5,178.9 million in 2020. It is projected to grow from USD 5,579.7 million in 2021 to USD 11,321.8 million by 2028, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6% over the forecast period. The report, published by Fortune Business Insights, covers a study period of 2017–2028, with 2020 serving as the base year.
According to the analysis, the market experienced a sharp negative demand shock during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the region recording roughly a 5.91% decline in 2020 relative to the average annual growth seen between 2017 and 2019. The steep rebound projected for the CAGR reflects an expected return to pre-pandemic demand levels as disruptions eased.
What Are Bioplastics and Why They Matter
Bioplastics are manufactured from renewable feedstocks such as cellulose, plant starch, natural sugars, vegetable fats, and waste oils, and most variants are biodegradable, positioning them as a more sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics. Demand is being pulled from multiple end-use sectors, including packaging, textiles, electronics, automotive, and furniture. A major structural driver is regulatory: governments and industry bodies across North America and Europe have tightened restrictions on single-use plastics, pushing manufacturers toward bio-based alternatives.
The pandemic also disrupted upstream supply chains — biomass producers cut output due to workforce and material constraints, while falling crude oil prices made conventional plastics comparatively cheaper, temporarily dulling the cost incentive to switch to bio-based materials. At the same time, elevated demand from the medical and food sectors for sustainable packaging offered a partial offset.
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Growth Drivers and Restraints
Packaging remains the single largest application area for bioplastics, benefiting from the broader expansion of food, automotive components, electronics, and consumer goods packaging, along with rising e-commerce volumes. Bioplastics offer many of the same functional properties as traditional plastics — stiffness, transparency, and durability — while being derived from renewable feedstock, making them an appealing route to cutting plastic waste.
On the cost side, bioplastics face real headwinds. Most require industrial composting infrastructure to break down properly, and only a limited number of facilities currently support this, meaning much of the material still ends up in landfills generating methane. Proper disposal streams add infrastructure costs, and bio-based feedstocks compete directly with food crops — an estimated 13,800 square kilometers of land is reportedly needed to meet current global bioplastics demand, a constraint that keeps production costs elevated relative to conventional plastics.
Segment and Regional Trends
By type, biodegradable bioplastics hold the larger share of the market, led by polylactic acid (PLA), which sees heavy use in packaging. Non-biodegradable bio-based plastics — including bio-polyethylene and bio-polypropylene — grow more slowly but offer greater rigidity and strength, making them suited to rigid packaging, electronics housings, and automotive parts.
By application, rigid packaging (bottles, jars, trays) is expected to post the fastest growth, driven by beverage and pharmaceutical packaging needs, while flexible packaging (pouches, shopping and waste bags) benefits from rising consumer goods and ready-to-eat food demand.
Regionally, Europe leads the market, valued at USD 3,460.8 million in 2020, supported by innovation in bio-based materials and EU policy aimed at reducing single-use plastic waste; the region reportedly accounted for close to a quarter of global bioplastics production in 2019. North America is expected to see strong growth as well, propelled by expansion in food and retail packaging across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, along with growing foodservice demand for bioplastic trays and bottles.
Competitive Landscape
Capacity expansion is the leading growth strategy among market participants, supplemented by partnerships, acquisitions, and new product launches. Key companies named in the report include Novamont S.p.A., Arkema S.A., Matrìca S.p.A., Solvay S.A., NatureWorks LLC, Total Corbion PLA bv, Toray Industries, LyondellBasell Industries, BASF SE, and Braskem.
Recent notable developments include Total Corbion PLA's plan announced in September 2020 to build a second polylactic acid facility with 100-kiloton capacity, and Novamont's 36% capacity expansion of its Mater-Bi product line completed in October 2019. NatureWorks also partnered with IMA Coffee in April 2021 to expand compostable coffee-pod availability in North America, while Novamont acquired BioBag Group in January 2021 to strengthen its distribution footprint across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific.
Outlook
Taken together, the data points to a market recovering from a pandemic-driven slowdown and entering a period of accelerated growth, underpinned by tightening plastics regulation, sustainability-driven packaging demand, and continued capacity investment by leading producers — tempered by persistent cost and infrastructure constraints relative to conventional plastics.