PET recycling rebounds from COVID-19

Post-consumer PET container recycling in the United States rebounded in 2021 after taking a big hit the year before as the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns were in full force.

New statistics released Dec. 14 by the National Association for PET Container Resources put PET recycling at 28.6 percent for 2021, up from 27.1 percent in 2020 when the recycling rate cratered during the early stages of the pandemic.

A total of 1.93 billion pounds of post-consumer PET bottles were collected last year, according to NAPCOR's 2021 PET Recycling Report.

"We just want to continue to demonstrate that the PET industry does have a very strong infrastructure. The reclaimers, the folks who are working in the industry every day, are working hard to make sure that we are recycling as much as we can," NAPCOR Executive Director Laura Stewart said.

"But we do have our work cut out for us in the future. The numbers are good this year. It's exciting to see us back closer to the 30 percent level for U.S., but we can't let our foot off the pedal," she said. "We need to continue working to find ways to increase the amount of recovery we can do for PET."

The new numbers also added revised data collection methodology, which NAPCOR said provides more accuracy.

Using the new approach, NAPCOR revised the 26.6 percent recycling rate previously reported for 2020 to 27.1 percent in the latest numbers contained in the highly anticipated annual report.

"We changed the methodology of the survey questions to make it more clear. It was previously underestimated," Stewart said in a phone interview.

In a follow-up email, the executive director provided some additional insight.

"This change was made to correct for overestimation of thermoforms in PET bales from California and applied retroactively to years 2017 through 2020. Since thermoform volumes are subtracted from post-consumer PET bottle bale weights to measure bottle recycling activity, this change ultimately shifted PET bottle collection rates and related data slightly upwards for those years," she said.

NAPCOR went back to restate the recycling rates for recent years using the new approach. Numbers for 2017 increased from 29.2 percent to 29.5 percent and 1.73 billion pounds to 1.75 billion pounds. Statistics for 2018 change from 28.96 percent to 29.3 percent and 1.82 billion pounds to 1.83 billion pounds. Numbers for 2019 changed from 27.9 percent to 28.3 percent and 1.78 billion pounds to 1.80 billion pounds.

For 2020, the numbers changed from 26.6 percent to 27.1 percent and 1.74 billion pounds to 1.77 billion pounds.

NAPCOR also is now tracking PET thermoform recycling, which increased to 142 million pounds in the United States and Canada in 2021. That's up from 134.1 million pounds in 2020 in both countries. Some 11 million pounds of PET thermoforms were recycled back into new thermoforms, and 73 percent of the recycled thermoforms were reprocessed in the United States and Canada.

Stewart also pointed out that bottle-to-bottle recycling also continues to increase, according to the latest numbers. Used PET bottles also are feedstock for the fiber industry, which consumes the material to make new fabric.

Increasing demand for recycled content on the container side, as well as higher prices for recycled PET, combined to push more material away from the fiber part of the business, Stewart explained. Fiber makers have dipped more into the post-industrial segment and are using more colored recycled PET to help compensate for the tightening market for clear recycled PET.

"I think what we're seeing in 2021 is a continuation of what we saw last year for the first time, which was the combination of bottles for both food and non-food applications has taken over fiber," Stewart said as the largest single-market for recycled PET.

The move, she added, was "driven by both brand owners' voluntary goals as well as legislative requirements."

The new NAPCOR report also puts the combined PET recycling rate for North America – including the United States, Mexico and Canada -- at 36.8 percent, up from 34.2 percent in 2020.

“The rebound in the amount of PET bottles collected in 2021 is encouraging,” NAPCOR Chairman Tom Busard said in a statement.

“PET recycling is working, but there is a need to see increased collection to meet both legislated and voluntary recycled-content demands of the future,” said Busard, who is also chief polymers and recycling officer for Plastipak Packaging Inc. and president of Clean Tech, Plastipak’s recycling affiliate.