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 2,424,970
Netherlands 909,361
France 140,073
Indonesia 96,081
Nigeria 70,931

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 1,318,844 1,106,126 -212,718
Netherlands 168,713 740,648 +571,935
France 112,849 27,224 -85,625
Indonesia 0 96,081 +96,081
Nigeria 70,931 0 -70,931
Belgium 52,724 9,164 -43,560
Turkey 61,063 0 -61,063
El Salvador 46,098 0 -46,098
Ghana 38,460 0 -38,460
Trinidad and Tobago 23,374 0 -23,374

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 2,257,893
Netherlands 805,410
France 164,313
Belgium 138,786
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 1,228,713 1,029,180 -199,533
Netherlands 89,837 715,573 +625,736
France 77,484 86,829 +9,345
Belgium 110,225 28,561 -81,664
Nigeria 70,931 0 -70,931
Turkey 61,063 0 -61,063
Austria 50,444 0 -50,444
El Salvador 46,098 0 -46,098
Ghana 38,460 0 -38,460
Italy 0 32,902 +32,902

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Northern Ireland 3
West Yorkshire 3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 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
Northern Ireland 3 2 -1
West Yorkshire 3 1 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 1 -1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 2 1 -1
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 2 0 -2
Greater Manchester 1 1 +0
Inner London - West 2 0 -2
Lancashire 0 2 +2
Lincolnshire 2 0 -2
Merseyside 1 2 +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) 2,971,095
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 771,835
Other 167,077
Air transport 72,965

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) 1,400,763 1,570,332 +169,569
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 453,960 317,875 -136,085
Other 90,131 76,946 -13,185
Air transport 46,341 26,624 -19,717

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Liverpool Docks 1,155,628
Immingham Docks 807,827
Heysham 420,641
Holyhead 400,766
Belfast Port 249,257

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 567,349 588,279 +20,930
Immingham Docks 115,796 692,031 +576,235
Heysham 202,967 217,674 +14,707
Holyhead 317,142 83,624 -233,518
Belfast Port 141,273 107,984 -33,289
Felixstowe 93,555 125,753 +32,198
000 90,131 76,946 -13,185
Dover 111,557 37,975 -73,582
London Gateway Port 96,448 0 -96,448
Eurotunnel 77,821 0 -77,821

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 11
Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 5
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5
Manufacture of paper and paper products 3
Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis 2

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 18
54m+ 6
15m-54m 4
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 7,937,657
Turkey 5,653,214
Poland 3,921,022
Germany 3,827,384
Spain 2,196,780

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 4,613,197 3,324,460 -1,288,737
Turkey 4,297,870 1,355,344 -2,942,526
Poland 1,648,453 2,272,569 +624,116
Germany 2,121,675 1,705,709 -415,966
Spain 1,175,985 1,020,795 -155,190
United States 540,497 1,370,720 +830,223
Netherlands 1,100,626 784,471 -316,155
France 1,189,359 520,354 -669,005
Portugal 1,016,728 78,315 -938,413
Indonesia 176,098 662,920 +486,822

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) 18,869,128
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 15,412,027
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) 10,751,169 8,117,959 -2,633,210
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 9,512,180 5,899,847 -3,612,333
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 £
Felixstowe 6,182,415
Immingham Docks 5,554,505
London 4,652,602
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,005,465
Hull 2,822,435

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 4,261,847 1,920,568 -2,341,279
Immingham Docks 3,032,323 2,522,182 -510,141
London 2,342,341 2,310,261 -32,080
Dover / Eurotunnel 2,251,298 754,167 -1,497,131
Hull 2,051,498 770,937 -1,280,561
London Gateway Port 1,641,025 1,170,741 -470,284
Dover 927,844 1,446,531 +518,687
Southampton 743,904 1,035,280 +291,376
Harwich 697,613 399,365 -298,248
Belfast Port 398,386 573,983 +175,597

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