PET Recycling

The volume of rigid PET bottles returned for recycling makes PET the most recycled plastic packaging material. This session will review historical and current recycling data taking into consideration the effects of right-weighting, deposit legislation, and industry initiatives directed at increasing the recycling rate. This discussion includes a review of how PET bottles are recycled to produce both non-food grade and food grade rPET, as well as explore the problematic issues that the industry must address. Particular emphasis is placed on package design as this plays a critical role in determining if that package will be able to be truly “recycled” using today’s recycling technologies.