Import/export HS code 39151020: Heavy plastic waste (PE-HD)

Plastic scraps from high-density polyethylene, commonly used for bottles and containers

Why this is important if you are looking for potential customers in the UK:

  • It helps you understand the market size for your product in the UK.
  • It provides you with a list of potential leads who have bought similar products.

* UK only, last 24 months analysed

Imports by country

What this shows: Import market volume by exporter country into the UK.

Top 5 values

Country £
Ireland 2,764,237
Netherlands 1,133,353
France 177,102
Belgium 120,000
Indonesia 96,081

Countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month volume, right side by second 12-month volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Country First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Ireland 1,684,504 1,079,733 -604,771
Netherlands 406,491 726,862 +320,371
France 149,878 27,224 -122,654
Belgium 110,836 9,164 -101,672
Indonesia 0 96,081 +96,081
Nigeria 26,170 44,761 +18,591
Turkey 61,063 0 -61,063
El Salvador 46,098 0 -46,098
Ghana 38,460 0 -38,460
China 35,346 0 -35,346

Imports by country of origin

What this shows: Import volume by production origin country. Differences from exporter-country data can indicate re-export routes.

Top 5 values

Origin £
Ireland 2,579,224
Netherlands 912,237
Belgium 314,063
France 201,342
Nigeria 70,931

Country of origin rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Origin First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Ireland 1,666,568 912,656 -753,912
Netherlands 195,712 716,525 +520,813
Belgium 300,240 13,823 -286,417
France 114,513 86,829 -27,684
Nigeria 26,170 44,761 +18,591
Austria 64,710 0 -64,710
Turkey 61,063 0 -61,063
China 49,938 0 -49,938
El Salvador 46,098 0 -46,098
Ghana 38,460 0 -38,460

Importers across UK regions

What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Lincolnshire 3
Merseyside 3
Northern Ireland 3
West Yorkshire 3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2

UK regions rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: UK regions are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month importer count, right side by second 12-month importer count, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

UK region First 12m Second 12m Delta
Lincolnshire 3 0 -3
Merseyside 2 2 +0
Northern Ireland 3 2 -1
West Yorkshire 3 1 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 1 -1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2 1 -1
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 2 1 -1
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 2 0 -2
Greater Manchester 1 1 +0
Inner London - West 2 0 -2

Import volume by transport

What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 3,629,734
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 806,959
Other 185,013
Air transport 73,666

Transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Transport First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,176,018 1,453,716 -722,302
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 451,405 355,554 -95,851
Other 17,936 167,077 +149,141
Air transport 43,105 30,561 -12,544

Import volume by port

What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.

Top 5 values

Port £
Liverpool Docks 1,329,483
Immingham Docks 926,524
Holyhead 485,453
Heysham 458,500
Felixstowe 296,437

Port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Port First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Liverpool Docks 871,150 458,333 -412,817
Immingham Docks 230,153 696,371 +466,218
Holyhead 392,107 93,346 -298,761
Heysham 253,817 204,683 -49,134
Felixstowe 164,733 131,704 -33,029
Belfast Port 150,674 109,757 -40,917
Eurotunnel 205,715 0 -205,715
000 17,936 167,077 +149,141
Dover 139,268 39,185 -100,083
London Gateway Port 51,687 44,761 -6,926

Importer companies by SIC division

What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery 12
Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 5
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5
Manufacture of paper and paper products 3
Remediation activities and other waste management services. 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 9
2025-10 5
2025-09 5
2025-08 4
2025-07 6

Top importers

What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.

Importer company size by revenue band

What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.

Top 5 values

Revenue Companies
1m-15m 17
54m+ 6
15m-54m 5
0-1m 3
Other 3

Import seasonality

What this shows: Average monthly import pattern from historical data.

Exports by country

What this shows: Export market volume by destination country from the UK.

Top 5 values

Country £
Italy 8,410,931
Turkey 6,824,899
Germany 5,563,565
Poland 3,777,798
France 2,309,983

Export countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Destination countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export volume, right side by second 12-month export volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Country First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Italy 4,068,234 4,342,697 +274,463
Turkey 4,451,966 2,372,933 -2,079,033
Germany 3,481,966 2,081,599 -1,400,367
Poland 1,473,595 2,304,203 +830,608
France 1,531,859 778,124 -753,735
Spain 1,042,454 1,253,229 +210,775
Netherlands 1,158,298 961,618 -196,680
United States 90,339 1,653,940 +1,563,601
Portugal 679,569 468,146 -211,423
Malaysia 812,521 131,395 -681,126

Exports by country of origin

What this shows: Export volume by production origin country. For re-exports, indicates where goods originated before UK export.

Top 5 values

Origin £
XI 35,834

Export origin countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Origin First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
XI 35,834 0 -35,834

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 20,229,462
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 18,768,790
Other 35,834
Air transport 8,595

Export transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Transport First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,729,065 8,500,397 -3,228,668
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 8,852,870 9,915,920 +1,063,050
Other 35,834 0 -35,834
Air transport 8,595 0 -8,595

Export volume by port

What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 7,093,336
Felixstowe 6,777,627
London 4,461,271
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,776,667
London Gateway Port 3,197,980

Export port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Port First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Immingham Docks 4,141,109 2,952,227 -1,188,882
Felixstowe 3,663,098 3,114,529 -548,569
London 1,645,161 2,816,110 +1,170,949
Dover / Eurotunnel 2,581,922 1,194,745 -1,387,177
London Gateway Port 1,649,530 1,548,450 -101,080
Hull 1,747,848 1,168,801 -579,047
Dover 831,278 1,436,152 +604,874
Southampton 811,166 1,182,560 +371,394
Harwich 989,863 483,460 -506,403
Liverpool Docks 900,774 207,262 -693,512

Quick facts

HS code: 39151020

Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months

Description: Plastic scraps from high-density polyethylene, commonly used for bottles and containers