PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2011

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 12/11 www.petpla.net PET recycling up again in N America The 2010 Report on Post Consumer PET Container Recycling Activity, the latest report from Napcor (National Association for PET Container Resources), the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APPR), and the PET Resin Association (Petra) finds that the rate for recycling of PET in the USA has increased again. 2010 is the seventh consecutive year of growth and was achieved despite a reduction in publicly-funded collection programs in Califor- nia and some other states. PETplanet Issue 10/2011 carried figures for 2009, as comparison with Europe’s data. The release of the Napcor/APR/Petra report brings the transat- lantic figures up to date with Europe’s. Total PET collected for recycling was the highest to date in the USA, as was the use of recycled PET in end-use applications, at over 1.5 and 1 billion pounds (678,000t and 452,000t) respectively. The 2010 Report also details the end uses for a record 1,002 mil- lion pounds of recycled PET utilised in manufacturing appli- cations. Applications in sheet & film, food & beverage bottles, strapping, and fibre end-use categories all showed increases over 2009. After two years of decline, sales of PET bottles and jars rebounded during 2010 across all sectors, although carbonated beverage saw growth tailing off during the last two months of the year. Increases in bottle and jar num- bers did not directly translate to increase in quantity of PET produced and used, and the drive for lighter weight contin- ued in 2010 and will continue for at least the next few years as every fraction of a gram used in a bottle is scrutinised. Napcor determined that the total weight of PET bottles and jars available in the United States for recycling in 2010 was 5.350 billion pounds (2,420t), which includes resin used by bottle manufacturers from US, foreign, and recycled sources, less scrap generated and not reused, exported bottles and preforms, and bottles less than 8oz in size. A total of 1,557 million pounds (703,000t) of postconsumer PET bottles was collected for recycling and sold in the USA during 2010. Of this, just under half was purchased by US reclaimers and a little less by export markets. Just over 4% of the total PET bottle components were included in mixed bales for export. The full report is available for download at www.napcor.com/ PET/pet_reports.html. Napcor, the National Association for PET Container Resources, is the trade association for the PET plastic packaging industry in the United States and Canada. www.napcor.com APPR , the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recy- cling, represents companies involved in acquisition, repro- cessing and sale of more than 90% of post-consumer plastic processing in the USA, Canada and Mexico. www.plasticsrecycling.org Recycling line recoSTAR PET iV+ Ongoing PET recycling innovation, quality and state-of-the-art technology, a full range of consulting services – brought to you by Starlinger. Visit us at: Interplastica Moskau 2012, 24.-27.01.2012 Plastindia New Delhi 2012, 01.-05.02.2012, Booth B14, Hall 12 www.recycling.starlinger.com