PET recycling rates hit by pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic is disrupting the supply of recycled PET in the U.
S.
at a time when the market is flocking to the material
.

New data just released by the National Association for PET Container Resources shows that the U.
S.
PET bottle recycling rate fell to 26.
6% in 2020, down from 27.
9% in 2019
.

With demand for recycled PET soaring and supply falling, that means the country has to rely on imports from Canada and Mexico to fill the gap
.
Demand for the material increased by 10% year-on-year
.

Darrel Collier, executive director of NAPCOR, said: “Clearly during 2020, the closure of exchange centres and curbside collections caused by Covid-19 has had a huge impact, all of which have actually impacted supply
.
This also means that our recycling in 2020 rate has dropped slightly
.
”

The recycling rate tracks the percentage of PET containers that are recycled
.
In this case, 26.
6% of bottles were recovered for recycling in 2020
.
The numbers can be confusing, but the drop in recycling equates to an overall 2.
3% drop in the actual weight of PET recycled in the
U.
S.

Collier said he was surprised that the volume of recycled PET was only down 2.
3%, given the challenges posed by the pandemic
.

PET recycling volumes for different periods in 2020 show that while people have limited recycling capacity at certain times of the year, many people do stock up on their PET until they can recycle the material
.

"It's just an indicator that people are trying to do the right thing
," he said
.

Demand for rPET continues to be strong and unabated as brand owners have made public commitments to increase recycled content in packaging
.
Many have proposed 2025 or 2030 targets to try to increase recycled content, which has created a strong market for recycled PET, even as prices have risen
.

“Brands in the packaging space are clearly delivering on some of the commitments they have made, their commitment to sustainability in content,” he said, “and that’s evidenced by the high demand despite price increases
.
”

Recycled PET is 20 percent more expensive than the raw material, he said
.

NAPCOR reports that the capacity of PET recyclers has increased from about 1 billion tons in 2010 to about 1.
8 billion tons in 2020
.

"Just like every plastic has its own unique properties that have their own characteristics in whatever packaging process they're applied to, they all have a little bit of a different supply and demand situation in the recycling supply chain," Collier said.
"Yes.
, there is not enough market demand for some plastics
.
It's not an issue with the most recycled plastic in the world, it's PET
.
We have a supply issue, not a demand issue
.
I think that's the real message
.
"

NAPCOR supports the Bottle Act in 2020 to help increase the supply of scrap PET for recycling
.
The decision comes after years of essentially stagnant recycling rates
.
While the use of PET has grown over the past few years, recycling rates have hovered around 30% in recent years
.

NAPCOR, which does not lobby, believes that more of the same will happen in the absence of fundamental changes
.

"States that have bottle deposit legislation have much higher collection rates than states that don't," Collier said.
"
I think brands and other companies will do the same if they don't
.
But it's the only way we can deliver on the promise of rPET content
.
"

PET needs to achieve a 50 to 55 percent recycling rate to meet the company's commitment to recycled content, Collier said
.

"I think policy has to be a core part of that," he said.
"But that's
within legislative control
.
We've had a decade of recycling around 30 per cent
.
"