PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2011

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 16 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 10/11 www.petpla.net PET recycling rates up in Europe and North America Bigger bales Petcore and EuPR’s report, ‘Post Consumer PET recycling in Europe 2010 and Prospects to 2015’ 1 found that PET col- lection figures for 2010 increased by more than six per cent over 2009. The latest published figures for North America 2* , published by Napcor (National Association for PET Con- tainer Resources) and APPR (Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recycling), which relate to 2009, also show an increase over the previous year’s findings. The North Ameri- can increase was recorded against a background of decline in sales of PET bottles and jars. Europe The report from Petcore and EuPR recorded that European post-sorting PET collection reached 1.45 million tonnes in 2010, an increase of 6.5% on 2009. The overall collection rate in 2010 remained at 48.3% of all PET bottles on the market. The number of blowmoulding outlets grew, with more than 25% of the resulting RPET, nearly a quarter on a million tonnes, used to produce containers in 2010. The 2010 share of fibres as an end use for recycled PET flake decreased to 39%, although the overall tonnage rose slightly. The strapping market rebounded with the resumption of construction and manufacturing after the recent recession. Nearly 100,000t of RPET was used in this applica- tion in 2010. There was a 25,000t decrease in RPET used in the APET sheet market, which was attributed to a combination of two factors. Sheet import volume was higher and the price of suitable quality RPET almost matched that of virgin PET for most of the year. It was estimated that the European region’s total mechanical reclamation capacity is 1.7 million tonnes. Exports to the Far East fell for a second year, to 13% of collected PET, and imports of baled PET bottles from outside the area were also lower. All but two of the sur- veyed countries have a collection rate above the 22.5% target rate for plastic recovery set by the Packaging Waste Directive. The collection rate by country depends on the maturity and extent of their collection systems, as well as eco- nomic instruments in place. Collection rates of over 70% are being recorded in a number of countries. Welcoming the increase in PET col- lection, Robert Bertaggia, Chairman of the Petcore Board, observed that the high levels of annual increase seen in previous years was expected to fall but that 2010’s 6.5% uplift is an excellent result. “The PET industry chain has worked with Compliance Agencies, National Bodies and European Recy- clers to achieve a collection rate of nearly 50% of all PET bottles placed on the market”. The Chairman of the EuPR PET Working Group, Casper van den Dungen, observed that capacity utilisa- tion of recycle plants is currently 79%, and that collectors and industry should seek to raise the current collection rate beyond 50%, in order to better use recycling facilities already in place. The continuous growth of PET bottle collec- tion rates also reflects the expectations of consumers. North America In North America, the Napcor/ APPR report found that the total RPET production in the USA in 2009 was 561 million lbs (255kt), with a further 601 million lbs (273kt) in clean flake equivalent being exported. Use of RPET in food, beverage, and non- food PET containers increased by 37% from 2008 to 2009. A total of 2.34