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 2,820,930
Netherlands 1,135,884
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 1,620,125 1,200,805 -419,320
Netherlands 381,681 754,203 +372,522
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 2,653,853
Netherlands 900,030
Belgium 328,801
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 1,569,655 1,084,198 -485,457
Netherlands 170,902 729,128 +558,226
Belgium 300,240 28,561 -271,679
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) 3,679,706
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 832,071
Other 167,077
Air transport 75,742

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) 2,065,117 1,614,589 -450,528
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 448,542 383,529 -65,013
Other 50,470 116,607 +66,137
Air transport 44,485 31,257 -13,228

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Liverpool Docks 1,393,867
Immingham Docks 914,317
Holyhead 482,432
Heysham 470,698
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 799,997 593,870 -206,127
Immingham Docks 214,682 699,635 +484,953
Holyhead 383,572 98,860 -284,712
Heysham 238,927 231,771 -7,156
Felixstowe 164,733 131,704 -33,029
Belfast Port 150,674 109,757 -40,917
Eurotunnel 205,715 0 -205,715
Dover 139,268 39,185 -100,083
000 50,470 116,607 +66,137
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 6
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
2026-01 7
2025-11 9
2025-10 5
2025-09 5
2025-08 4

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 19
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 8,503,088
Turkey 6,078,214
Germany 5,546,299
Poland 4,187,322
Spain 2,292,073

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 4,494,346 4,008,742 -485,604
Turkey 4,255,918 1,822,296 -2,433,622
Germany 3,504,185 2,042,114 -1,462,071
Poland 1,524,862 2,662,460 +1,137,598
Spain 1,062,203 1,229,870 +167,667
France 1,557,141 713,200 -843,941
Netherlands 1,193,532 971,296 -222,236
United States 126,960 1,784,257 +1,657,297
Portugal 848,788 258,093 -590,695
Indonesia 0 839,018 +839,018

Export volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 19,846,691
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 18,486,553
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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 9,805,697 10,040,994 +235,297
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 10,824,250 7,662,303 -3,161,947
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 7,288,862
Felixstowe 6,321,563
London 4,848,319
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,793,064
London Gateway Port 3,112,802

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 4,331,531 2,957,331 -1,374,200
Felixstowe 3,774,306 2,547,257 -1,227,049
London 2,049,974 2,798,345 +748,371
Dover / Eurotunnel 2,599,171 1,193,893 -1,405,278
London Gateway Port 1,615,882 1,496,920 -118,962
Hull 2,033,353 904,820 -1,128,533
Dover 890,819 1,642,176 +751,357
Southampton 642,416 1,168,780 +526,364
Harwich 979,417 478,025 -501,392
Belfast Port 39,261 933,510 +894,249

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