Why a strong plastics industry matters

Scott Colman examines the importance of a strong plastics industry in the UK and Ireland

The plastics industry is one of the most significant (yet often underappreciated) pillars of the Irish and UK economies. At a time when the spotlight often falls on technology, finance, or pharmaceuticals, the role of plastics can be overlooked, dismissed as a background material or, worse, a sector only viewed through the lens of sustainability debates. But such a view ignores the reality. Plastics are indispensable to modern economies. They enable productivity, underpin manufacturing, and make possible the very innovations that drive progress in healthcare, energy, transportation, and digital technologies.

As the Event Director of Plastics Live Ireland, I am proud to provide a forum where the sector can showcase its capabilities, address its challenges, and set the agenda for the future. But before we consider why convening such a community is so vital, we must first reflect on why a strong plastics sector is critical to the prosperity and competitiveness of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Plastics as the backbobne of modern manufacturing

Few materials have had such a transformative impact on industry as plastics. From medical devices that save lives, to lightweight automotive components that reduce emissions, to packaging that ensures food safety and reduces waste, plastics are woven into the fabric of daily life and industrial activity.

In Ireland, the plastics industry is inseparable from the country’s status as a global hub for medtech and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Many of the life-saving devices and drug-delivery systems produced here rely on precision plastics processing. Without advanced polymers, sterile packaging, and innovative component design, modern healthcare would be unrecognisable. The UK too has built its reputation in healthcare innovation on the reliability of its plastics sector, which provides essential materials and components that keep hospitals supplied and patients treated effectively.

The aerospace and automotive sectors also rely heavily on plastics. The demand for lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles and aircraft has placed plastics and composites at the centre of innovation. These materials allow manufacturers to meet environmental targets, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance safety, all while maintaining performance. Plastics are also deeply embedded in the electronics and digital technologies sector. Far beyond simple casings, plastics enable the miniaturisation of devices, protect sensitive circuits, and help bring next-generation consumer and industrial technologies to market.

Even in packaging (often the lightning rod for criticism) plastics provide benefits that cannot be ignored. They ensure food longevity, maintain hygiene, and deliver supply chain efficiency at a scale unmatched by most alternatives. When considered across healthcare, transport, electronics, and consumer goods, it becomes clear that plastics are not peripheral but central. They are a strategic enabler of competitiveness, supporting resilient supply chains, secure domestic manufacturing, and a platform for innovation.

A driver of employment and skills

The plastics sector is also a vital employer across both nations. It supports thousands of skilled jobs in processing, tooling, moulding, and materials innovation. These jobs are not simply repetitive factory roles, they are careers built around advanced engineering, digital manufacturing, and applied science. They require constant upskilling and create an environment where technology and craftsmanship go hand in hand.

Importantly, plastics companies are often located outside major metropolitan hubs, providing balance to regional economies. In Ireland, this means anchoring high-value employment in towns and communities that might otherwise struggle to secure industrial investment. For the UK, it reinforces the country’s manufacturing base across diverse geographies. This regional spread demonstrates how plastics contribute to economic resilience, ensuring that prosperity is not concentrated in a few centres but distributed more evenly.

The skills cultivated within plastics manufacturing, from design-for-manufacture to the integration of automation and robotics, also extend well beyond the sector itself. Workers trained in plastics brng with them expertise that strengthens the wider manufacturing economy. In this way, the industry functions as both a provider of jobs and a generator of transferable skills, amplifying its significance far beyond its immediate footprint.

Innovation, sustainability and the circular economy

Any discussion of plastics today inevitably raises questions of sustainability. The issue of waste and the environmental consequences of poor plastics management have rightly gained global attention. Yet it is a mistake to conflate the material with the misuse of it. In fact, the plastics sector is at the forefront of some of the most important sustainability innovations of our time.

Across Ireland and the UK, companies are investing in the development of recyclable and compostable materials that can reduce long-term waste. They are committing resources to advanced sorting and reprocessing infrastructure, ensuring that plastics remain within a circular system rather than entering landfill or the environment. Lightweight plastic solutions are also reducing energy consumption across industries by cutting transport weights and extending the lifespan of products.

Perhaps most importantly, the plastics industry is embracing circular economy models that keep materials in use for longer, transforming waste into feedstock for new products and reducing reliance on virgin resources. These are not abstract aspirations but concrete developments that demonstrate the industry’s capacity to adapt and lead. A strong domestic plastics industry is therefore essential if Ireland and the UK are to achieve their sustainability ambitions. Outsourcing solutions to other regions risks competitiveness, increases emissions through long-distance transport, and diminishes the ability to enforce high environmental standards. Far from being a barrier to sustainability, the plastics sector must be recognised as a partner in delivering it.

Why support matters

For all its strengths, the plastics industry faces significant challenges. Energy costs, raw material volatility, global competition, and regulatory pressures all weigh heavily on companies large and small. Against this backdrop, supporting the plastics sector is not a matter of choice but a matter of national strategy.

Policymakers need to acknowledge the plastics industry as a multiplier of value across healthcare, technology, aerospace, and consumer industries. Without it, those sectors cannot thrive. Likewise, customers and brand owners must shift their perspective, seeing suppliers not merely as vendors but as innovation partners whose expertise unlocks better products and more sustainable solutions. Within the industry itself, there is also a pressing need for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a willingness to adapt quickly to change. The health of the sector depends on a collective approach as much as on individual excellence.

Plastics Live Ireland

It was with this understanding that Plastics Live Ireland was create. The event was never intended to be just another trade show. Its purpose is to establish a high-quality forum for the plastics community, a place where suppliers and customers, innovators and practitioners, academics and policymakers can come together to exchange ideas and chart a course for the future.

At Plastics Live Ireland, innovation takes centre stage. The event highlights the latest developments in materials, machinery, and processing technologies, giving participants a clear view of where the industry is heading. It also provides a space for debate, where leaders can engage directly with pressing issues such as sustainability, digitalisation, and global competitiveness. Just as importantly, it is a networking platform that connects the entire plastics value chain. By convening such a diverse audience, the event ensures that no part of the ecosystem operates in isolation but instead draws strength from shared momentum.

The future competitiveness of Ireland and the UK will not be secured by headline industries alone. It will rely on the strength of enabling sectors like plastics, industries that quietly underpin the supply chains, innovations, and infrastructures that modern economies depend upon.

For policymakers, the message is clear. Supporting the plastics industry is synonymous with supporting national resilience. For businesses, the challenge is to collaborate and innovate, recognising the sector’s central role in delivering sustainable and competitive solutions. And for those directly involved in the plastics value chain, the opportunity is immediate. Plastics Live Ireland will be the place where these conversations happen, where ideas are exchanged, and where the future of the sector is shaped.

A strong plastics industry is not a luxury. It is a necessity. By coming together, we can ensure that plastics remain a source of prosperity, innovation, and competitiveness for Ireland and the United Kingdom alike.

Plastics Live Ireland will be held in Dublin from 26 to 27 November 2025.

Scott Colman is Event Director, Plastics Live Ireland.