Plastic intermediate bulk containers are increasingly expected to replace steel and fibreboard drums

Plastic intermediate bulk containers are increasingly expected to replace steel and fibreboard drums

HDPE intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) will take a greater share of the western European market for transit packaging, according to a report from AMI. AMI found demand for HDPE blow-moulded drums and IBCs grew 5% a year between 1998 and 2003. Although growth is expected to slow, plastic is expected increasingly to replace steel and fibreboard in the sector.

The study looked at blow-moulded containers of between 60-litre and 1,000-litre capacities and found plastics competing successfully in the market because of developments in permeation barriers and anti-static properties. The blow-moulded drum and IBC sector last year used 220,000 tonnes of polymer – 13% of the HDPE blow-moulding market.