Cleveland — Growth in plastics recycling continues to run into a series of challenges, according to a market analyst with consulting firm AMI.
Although global polymer demand has been stable in recent years, a lack of recycling capacity has prevented more than 100 companies from reaching goals set by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Elizabeth Carroll said Nov. 13 at AMI Plastics World Expos in Cleveland.
Firms missing those goals include major global companies such as PepsiCo, Walmart, Shell, Unilever and Volkswagen. Previous goals included using all recyclable plastic packaging by 2025 and averaging 22 percent recycled plastics content by that same year.
"COVID slowed the development of recycling infrastructure," Carroll said. "There's also been a lack of new technology."
Based on AMI research, mechanical recycling continues to lead the way in the plastics recycling market, producing almost 84 billion pounds of recycled material globally in 2023. Much of that recycled material is used in flexible and rigid packaging and in fibers.
Chemical recycling — by pyrolysis, solvents or other methods —is expected to double its capacity between 2022 and 2025, with large growth in Europe. By 2030, North America is expected to have the most global chemical recycling capacity at almost 8 billion pounds.
The chemical recycling sector has been challenged by lower investment, uncertain feedstock sources, project delays and an underdeveloped collection system, Carroll said.
"Many [chemical recycling] ideas haven't been financed," she added. "And on the supply side, chemical recycling doesn't want to take feedstock away from mechanical recycling."
Looking at U.S. plastics recycling in the long term, Carroll said the market "has seen a lot of growth since 1990, but it's been inconsistent across the country."
Recently, U.S. plastics recycling has been challenged by lower prices for virgin resin, which has made recycled resins more expensive. Limits on supply sourcing also have had an impact in some cases. Carpet makers, for example, have to use recycled material from carpets and not from bottles in order to be a closed loop system, according to a new law in California, Carroll said.
In 2023, mechanical recycling of plastics in the U.S. had about 18.5 billion pounds of capacity. Of that amount, 44 percent came from polyethylene, with 28 percent from PET, 15 percent from polypropylene and 9 percent from PVC, according to AMI data.