Group claims Europe has reached PET limit

Group claims Europe has reached PET limit

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The PET recycling industry is threatened by persistent structural market failures across Europe, according to a trade group.

Plastics Recyclers Europe is claiming [1] that current collection infrastructure in Europe has reached its limit, resulting in the collection of PET bottles stagnating at about 50 percent. The remainder of uncollected PET is either sent to landfill or incinerator. Additionally, lightweighting and complex bottle design have increased the cost of recycling, a problem that cannot be corrected by economies of scale, according to the association.

Despite these problems the demand for recycled PET has led to increases in investments in new recycling lines, according to the association. However, these plants are running below capacity. Additionally, if the European Union lifts anti-dumping duties on virgin PET, it could make the situation even worse.

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