Napcor’s new PET recycling report unveils North American PET recycling rate surpasses 40 per cent
PET bottle recycling rates across the United States reached new heights in 2023, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources’ (Napcor) latest 2023 PET Recycling Report published on December 12. The United States (US) PET bottle collection rate was 33 per cent in 2023, up four percentage points from 29 per cent in 2022; the highest recycling rate in the US since 1996. The average amount of post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET, also known as recycled PET (rPET), used in US bottles and jars was 16.2 per cent in 2023, up 3 percentage points from 13.2 per cent in 2022. This is the highest level ever and demonstrates increased demand for recycled PET nationwide.
Laura Stewart, Napcor’s executive director stated: “Napcor’s 2023 PET Recycling Report shows that while there were fewer PET bottles available to recycle in the US, there were still more PET bottles recycled in 2023, resulting in a higher recovery percentage. When manufacturers, consumers, retailers, and recyclers work together to ensure PET is selected, collected, and recycled, our planet reaps the rewards.”
In 2023, the collection rate reached the highest level in nearly 30 years due to growth in PET plastic bottles collected and fewer bottles available for recycling compared to 2022. The US collected 1,962 million pounds of PET bottles for recycling in 2023, the highest annual weight for US bottle collection ever recorded, up from 1,911 million pounds in 2022, an increase of 2.7 per cent.
The total pounds of PET bottles available for recycling in the US in 2023 was 5,952 million pounds, down 9.8 per cent from 6,599 million pounds in 2022. Domestic sales of both new, also called virgin, and recycled PET resin to non-food/beverage bottle applications, e.g., personal care packaging and household cleaners, were down by significant margins compared to 2022.
As a result of voluntary brand commitments and legislation including recent mandatory recycled content laws, the trend of increasing rPET content in US bottles has accelerated in recent years after remaining flat between six and seven percent between 2014 and 2017. In 2023, the rate of rPET content in US bottles reached an all-time high of 16.2 per cent. The amount of rPET used in US bottles in 2023 increased to 966 million pounds from 870 million pounds in 2022, an 11 per cent difference. Of the total usage of recycled PET in US and Canadian end markets, the fraction that went to bottle applications reached a new high of 59 per cent in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 54 per cent in 2022.
North America (the US, Canada, and Mexico) also achieved a significant milestone in recycling, reaching a new high of 41.3 per cent in 2023 and surpassing the global standard set by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. In 2016, the Foundation defined successful recycling as achieving a 30 per cent recycling rate across regions with a combined population of at least 400 million. Since 2019, when Napcor began tracking the North American rate, the region’s PET bottle recycling rate has consistently exceeded the 30 per cent benchmark.
Napcor’s 2023 PET Recycling Report includes data on:
- PET bottle recycling rates for North America and the US
- Post-consumer PET bottle recycling activity: bottles available for collection, post-consumer bottle purchases, clean rPET flake produced, material efficiency rate & reclamation byproducts, end use applications & imports, and more
- PET thermoform market analysis (US & Canada): recycling activity, market data, converter activity, sheet capacity, and more
- rPET in the US fibre market: volumes of rPET used in the US market for textile and carpet fibres, and more
- PET/rPET supply chain, 2023 through October 2024: historic pricing, rPET bales, LNO pellet, reclamation capacity, trade activity, market developments, and more
The association’s 2023 PET Recycling Report is the 29th report of its kind based on survey data, interviews within the market, import data, and independent analysis by Napcor.
