Import/export HS code 391590: Plastic waste from other materials

Recyclable plastic scraps from various types of plastics not listed elsewhere

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 27,640,940
Germany 6,915,218
China 6,862,527
Belgium 6,560,712
Netherlands 3,876,511

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 13,237,701 14,403,239 +1,165,538
Germany 3,152,693 3,762,525 +609,832
China 1,765,813 5,096,714 +3,330,901
Belgium 3,376,641 3,184,071 -192,570
Netherlands 2,081,101 1,795,410 -285,691
United Arab Emirates 311,593 930,082 +618,489
France 587,227 584,729 -2,498
Nigeria 398,681 569,115 +170,434
Brazil 350,878 414,996 +64,118
United States 411,149 267,462 -143,687

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 27,419,490
Germany 7,407,749
China 6,999,784
Belgium 5,741,267
Netherlands 3,099,745

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 13,219,991 14,199,499 +979,508
Germany 3,511,206 3,896,543 +385,337
China 1,834,286 5,165,498 +3,331,212
Belgium 2,632,750 3,108,517 +475,767
Netherlands 1,946,232 1,153,513 -792,719
France 1,059,201 942,108 -117,093
United Arab Emirates 310,336 1,006,272 +695,936
Nigeria 398,681 547,157 +148,476
Brazil 378,707 459,907 +81,200
United States 438,399 359,894 -78,505

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 9
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 8
Greater Manchester 8
Inner London - West 7
Lancashire 6

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
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 7 +2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 7 +3
Greater Manchester 6 4 -2
Inner London - West 2 5 +3
Lancashire 2 5 +3
Merseyside 4 3 -1
West Yorkshire 5 4 -1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 2 -2
Cheshire 3 4 +1
Northern Ireland 4 3 -1

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) 32,783,500
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 27,221,876
Air transport 1,216,575
Other 185,388
Road transport 10,189

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) 15,206,089 17,577,411 +2,371,322
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,989,273 15,232,603 +3,243,330
Air transport 519,279 697,296 +178,017
Other 4,945 180,443 +175,498
Road transport 6,941 3,248 -3,693

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Heysham 22,518,469
Immingham Docks 10,030,611
Felixstowe 6,555,347
Dover 4,489,676
Hull 4,478,695

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 £
Heysham 10,132,878 12,385,591 +2,252,713
Immingham Docks 4,352,120 5,678,491 +1,326,371
Felixstowe 2,597,059 3,958,288 +1,361,229
Dover 1,651,759 2,837,917 +1,186,158
Hull 3,082,806 1,395,889 -1,686,917
London Gateway Port 920,527 3,019,266 +2,098,739
Liverpool Docks 2,323,595 1,317,195 -1,006,400
Southampton 201,943 1,019,057 +817,114
Fishguard 207,990 420,945 +212,955
London Heathrow Airport 185,835 432,664 +246,829

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 28
Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery 25
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 24
Remediation activities and other waste management services. 9
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 9

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 33
2025-10 32
2025-09 26
2025-08 25
2025-07 23

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 49
54m+ 35
0-1m 14
15m-54m 14
Other 9

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 £
Netherlands 24,302,113
Turkey 15,656,977
Spain 15,165,704
Germany 14,476,893
France 10,945,340

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 £
Netherlands 11,103,302 13,198,811 +2,095,509
Turkey 12,616,697 3,040,280 -9,576,417
Spain 8,074,248 7,091,456 -982,792
Germany 7,942,568 6,534,325 -1,408,243
France 3,735,741 7,209,599 +3,473,858
Italy 5,533,044 3,369,600 -2,163,444
Belgium 3,813,132 3,090,042 -723,090
Indonesia 1,134,310 5,190,854 +4,056,544
Malaysia 3,048,109 1,829,171 -1,218,938
Viet Nam 2,979,303 853,543 -2,125,760

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 1,110,575
XU 10

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 729,296 381,279 -348,017
XU 10 0 -10

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) 71,317,192
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 60,914,217
Other 1,110,585
Air transport 376,293

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) 43,441,994 27,875,198 -15,566,796
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 24,221,875 36,692,342 +12,470,467
Other 729,306 381,279 -348,027
Air transport 177,739 198,554 +20,815

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 21,444,486
Immingham Docks 20,324,579
Dover / Eurotunnel 17,797,175
London Gateway Port 16,693,402
London 12,129,435

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 £
Felixstowe 11,368,000 10,076,486 -1,291,514
Immingham Docks 8,847,265 11,477,314 +2,630,049
Dover / Eurotunnel 7,386,389 10,410,786 +3,024,397
London Gateway Port 8,521,902 8,171,500 -350,402
London 6,462,297 5,667,138 -795,159
Southampton 7,194,405 4,387,331 -2,807,074
Hull 4,529,224 2,843,842 -1,685,382
Harwich 4,150,709 1,693,426 -2,457,283
Liverpool Docks 2,434,703 2,329,759 -104,944
Thamesport 1,619,357 1,771,517 +152,160

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 391590

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

Description: Recyclable plastic scraps from various types of plastics not listed elsewhere