Book excerpt: This review outlines the nature looking at its supply and demand, price, markets and applications, environmental issues and the future prospects of the industry. The report describes raw materials and synthesis, additives and compounding, and processing. Current issues have been highlighted including new technology and market forces. culture and trends in the building and construction industry. It describes the current building and construction market place and the applications and potential for the wide range of polymer materials available today. This review is accompanied by indexed summaries of papers from the Rapra Polymer Library database to allow the reader to search for information on specific topics.