PET RECYCLING | TECHNOLOGY
Market reports show steady growth in PET recycling, but the right technology is needed to make further progress in food-contact rPET applications. David Eldridge reports
RPET progress: growing use in bottles and trays
The market for recycled PET (rPET) is well estab- lished and shows no sign of slowing down. Support for rPET’s growth has been given extra momentum by EU packaging legislation which aims to increase sustainability, and by brand owners committing to their own targets for incorporating recycled plastics in their packaging. The upward trend for rPET is particuarly strong in food-contact bottle and tray applications. AMI Consulting estimates that the amount of
recycled plastics produced in Europe in 2021 was 8.2m tonnes in 2021 and it forecasts production to grow by 5.6% per year to 2030 (AMI Consulting is part of AMI which publishes Plastics Recycling World). In its new report, Mechanical Plastics Recycling – European Market 2022, it says PET bottles achieve higher recycling rates than the 23.1% average for all plastics recycling in Europe. This is partly due to bottle deposit return schemes (DRS) and established collection systems in many
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of the European Union’s member countries. In the report, rigid packaging is estimated to have used approximately 2m tonnes of recycled plastics in 2021, which was driven by the large volume of PET collected and recycled. Volumes are expected to increase further, says AMI Consulting. It notes other positives supporting the European mechanical recycling industry, such as improvements in plastics waste collection in various countries. However, it also sees constraints on market growth, such as difficulties for recyclers in sourcing a consistent supply of high-quality plastics waste. Another recent report is PET Market in Europe
State of Play 2022, published by Plastics Recyclers Europe, Petcore Europe and drinks associations Unesda and Natural Mineral Waters Europe. In the report, it is estimated that 1.7m tonnes of rPET flakes was produced in 2020. It said there was steady growth for rPET in trays and sheet applica- tions, which account for 32% of the market,
March/April 2022 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 31
Main image: AMB Packaging has started the Tray Revive initiative in Italy to close the loop for PET tray recycling
IMAGE: AMB
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