U.S. PET container recycling rate climbs above 30% for 2012
NAPCOR and APR report highest domestic RPET production and end use to date
The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR, napcor.com) and The Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recyclers (APR, plasticsrecycling.org) announced today the release of the “Report on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity in 2012,” which cites a 2012 U.S. recycling rate of 30.8% for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic containers. The total volume of postconsumer PET bottles collected was the highest reported to date at 1.718 billion pounds, as were both the total amount of RPET produced by U.S. reclaimers, 930 million pounds, and the amount used across major end-use domestic market segments at 1.3 billion pounds.
“The increase in the PET recycling rate is clear evidence of continued strong, domestic end-market demand for recycled PET, and we believe there’s considerable scope for U.S. industry to readily absorb more recycled PET material if available. This strong demand continues to drive domestic investment, and it fuels jobs and related economic growth,” says Tom Busard, Chairman of both NAPCOR and APR, Chief Procurement Officer for Plastipak Packaging, Inc., and President of Clean Tech, Plastipak’s recycling affiliate. “In 2012 we saw significant increases in recycled PET use in fiber, sheet and film, food and beverage bottles, and strapping end-market categories in the United States.”