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 31,566,140
China 8,003,150
Germany 7,684,424
Belgium 6,531,343
Netherlands 4,272,070

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 17,270,115 14,296,025 -2,974,090
China 2,072,200 5,930,950 +3,858,750
Germany 3,528,284 4,156,140 +627,856
Belgium 3,227,658 3,303,685 +76,027
Netherlands 1,666,159 2,605,911 +939,752
United Arab Emirates 365,563 876,112 +510,549
France 620,061 583,104 -36,957
Nigeria 402,529 595,188 +192,659
Brazil 647,899 224,103 -423,796
Denmark 269,711 489,558 +219,847

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 31,215,531
Germany 8,147,309
China 8,076,780
Belgium 6,042,484
Netherlands 3,305,810

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 17,188,759 14,026,772 -3,161,987
Germany 3,850,897 4,296,412 +445,515
China 2,157,562 5,919,218 +3,761,656
Belgium 2,665,625 3,376,859 +711,234
Netherlands 1,477,899 1,827,911 +350,012
France 1,003,239 874,599 -128,640
United Arab Emirates 440,496 876,112 +435,616
United States 548,964 430,113 -118,851
Nigeria 402,529 573,230 +170,701
Brazil 693,796 268,661 -425,135

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
Inner London - West 7
Greater Manchester 6
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 8 6 -2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 6 +2
Inner London - West 4 3 -1
Greater Manchester 5 4 -1
Lancashire 3 5 +2
West Yorkshire 5 4 -1
Cheshire 3 4 +1
Lincolnshire 2 5 +3
Merseyside 3 3 +0
Northern Ireland 2 5 +3

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) 37,528,854
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 28,873,062
Air transport 1,322,691
Other 314,547
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) 18,791,896 18,736,958 -54,938
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 12,773,044 16,100,018 +3,326,974
Air transport 841,492 481,199 -360,293
Other 59,748 254,799 +195,051
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 24,343,567
Immingham Docks 11,258,009
Felixstowe 7,103,425
Dover 4,913,893
London Gateway Port 4,496,087

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 13,724,958 10,618,609 -3,106,349
Immingham Docks 4,516,874 6,741,135 +2,224,261
Felixstowe 2,465,559 4,637,866 +2,172,307
Dover 1,994,635 2,919,258 +924,623
London Gateway Port 1,560,385 2,935,702 +1,375,317
Hull 2,656,821 1,544,056 -1,112,765
Liverpool Docks 2,265,433 1,143,227 -1,122,206
Fishguard 628,935 1,984,866 +1,355,931
Southampton 277,639 1,109,644 +832,005
London Heathrow Airport 414,609 283,267 -131,342

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 27
Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery 23
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 20
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 9
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 8

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 26
2026-03 22
2026-02 25
2026-01 18
2025-12 22

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 43
54m+ 41
0-1m 13
15m-54m 12
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 25,569,165
Germany 14,044,299
Spain 13,947,340
France 12,460,882
Turkey 12,092,528

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 12,433,909 13,135,256 +701,347
Germany 7,839,885 6,204,414 -1,635,471
Spain 8,726,155 5,221,185 -3,504,970
France 5,531,846 6,929,036 +1,397,190
Turkey 7,814,704 4,277,824 -3,536,880
Italy 4,635,312 3,229,795 -1,405,517
Belgium 3,618,278 3,785,936 +167,658
Indonesia 2,928,461 3,466,618 +538,157
Malaysia 2,591,081 1,935,480 -655,601
Portugal 1,763,647 2,232,117 +468,470

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 1,722,045

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 664,282 1,057,763 +393,481

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) 69,927,785
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 60,100,084
Other 1,722,045
Air transport 515,851

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) 34,213,740 35,714,045 +1,500,305
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 35,302,479 24,797,605 -10,504,874
Other 664,282 1,057,763 +393,481
Air transport 200,440 315,411 +114,971

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 21,359,183
Immingham Docks 21,231,264
Dover / Eurotunnel 19,329,777
London Gateway Port 15,873,840
London 12,181,481

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 10,606,846 10,752,337 +145,491
Immingham Docks 10,350,504 10,880,760 +530,256
Dover / Eurotunnel 9,020,098 10,309,679 +1,289,581
London Gateway Port 7,057,399 8,816,441 +1,759,042
London 6,846,213 5,335,268 -1,510,945
Southampton 7,961,148 2,009,300 -5,951,848
Hull 4,038,849 2,500,479 -1,538,370
Liverpool Docks 2,836,029 2,203,264 -632,765
Harwich 3,458,735 1,344,634 -2,114,101
Thamesport 2,675,940 603,856 -2,072,084

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