Key takeaways
- Imports account for almost one-quarter of supply
- Consumption, recovery rates fall
- Available bottle volumes rise
- End markets lag rising thermoform recovery
RPET imports into North America reached record levels in 2024, representing nearly one-quarter of total supply, according to the new PET recycling report from the NAPCOR industry organization.
The 30th annual report from the National Association for PET Container Resources also showed that total RPET consumption in the US and Canada declined by 3% from 2023 to 1.733 billion pounds, an indication of reduced overall demand. At the same time, sales from domestic reclaimers decreased by 7% while imported RPET increased by 14% to 395 million pounds.
A wide price spread between domestic RPET and virgin PET encourages use of either virgin PET or inexpensive imported RPET, the report said. This echoes dynamics that have contributed to multiple recycler failures in the EU and the closure of PET recycler rPlanet Earth in California.
In addition, lackluster demand for end-use applications has weighed on the PET industry, with Eastman and Indorama recently expressing hope for pent-up demand to surface in 2026.
The US PET bottle recycling rate fell to 30.2% in 2024, lower by 2.3 points from its peak in 2023 of 32.5%. NAPCOR noted that 2023 figures have been updated since being released late last year. From 2014 to 2024, however, the average remained around 30%.
Pounds of PET bottles collected in the US for recycling fell by 3.9% to 1.889 billion. In 2023, that figure was 1.965 billion pounds, the highest annual weight recorded. Of the collected PET bottles, 88% were processed by US reclaimers, higher by 1 point on the year. US reclaimers supplemented domestic bottles with imported materials and alternative feedstocks to process a total of 1.966 billion pounds of PET, up 1.5% from 2023.
Available pounds rise
At the same time, total pounds of PET bottles available for recycling in the US reached 6.248 billion, higher by 3.5% on the year, though the average share of RPET used in US bottles was steady at 15.9%, driven by an increase in virgin resin inputs, the report said. Even so, volumes sold into food and beverage bottles declined for the first time since 2018, though the share of RPET used in bottle applications reached a new high of 62%.
Following a trend of increasing recycled content in US bottles over recent years, the report attributed the shift in 2024 to softer nationwide demand for RPET in bottles, with growth in bottles available for recycling driven by increased virgin resin inputs.
Virgin PET volumes sold into food and beverage bottle applications also increased, though pounds used in personal care and other non-food applications continued to decrease.
“These results underscore the value of continued investment in recycling infrastructure and policies that strengthen domestic feedstock supply, support innovation, and ensure PET remains the leading material in the circular economy,” said Laura Stewart, executive director of NAPCOR.
Collection rises for non-bottle materials; markets lag
Although bottle collection decreased, other volumes grew sharply in both volume and in share. US and Canadian reclaimers recycled nearly four times more non-traditional feedstock — material that is not post-consumer packaging, including byproducts from reclamation — than in 2023, driven by depolymerization technologies operating at scale for the first time that year. One such facility, Eastman’s flagship methanolysis plant in Tennessee, ramped up operating rates in 2024.
All told, the US and Canada recovered 264 million pounds of PET thermoforms in 2024, higher by 52% on the year.
NAPCOR attributed the gains to progress in capturing non-bottle packaging, including improvements in AI and optical sorting technology and broader acceptance as a feedstock – such as Eastman broadening its feedstock slate expanding its feedstock slate – while acknowledging changes to the report methodology. “Together, these factors reflect more accurate thermoform composition in bales, which has likely grown more gradually than the data shows.”
Despite the steep gains for alternative PET feedstocks, the report indicated that market demand for post-consumer PET thermoforms has lagged recovery rates, calling it “inconsistent.”
The data “underscore the importance of strengthening domestic recycling infrastructure, expanding recovery of all PET packaging formats, and ensuring policies that support reliable end markets for recycled material,” said Tom Busard, NAPCOR board chair, chief polymers and recycling officer for Plastipak Packaging, and president of Clean Tech, Plastipak’s recycling affiliate.
