The Recycling Partnership boosts US PET circularity with P&G and Walmart-backed coalition

17 Jun 2022 --- The Recycling Partnership is introducing the PET Recycling Coalition, an initiative informed by industry knowledge and expertise to improve PET circularity. The US-based coalition comes as part of The Recycling Partnership’s pathway to circularity and aims to advance the circular economy for all packaging.

The coalition is supported by and open to members representing all segments of the material’s value chain, including founding committee members Eastman, Indorama Ventures, Procter & Gamble (P&G), and the Walmart Foundation.

“Recycled PET (rPET) is an extremely useful material when used and reused responsibly,” says Mark Agerton, group scientist from P&G’s responsible packaging R&D team. “This PET coalition is a partnership to help provide the essential funding and innovations needed to increase recycling rates and drive true circularity of non-desired plastics.”

The Recycling Coalition’s work will focus on addressing four key opportunities to increase the recycling of plastic material: 

• Increasing the capture of PET bottles.
• Broadening the acceptance of PET trays, cups and clamshells in community recycling collection programs.
• Unlocking new supplies of rPET for packaging manufacturers.
• Strengthening recycling systems for pigmented and opaque PET.

PET is in high demand for use in textiles such as clothing and carpet, where it is known as polyester, and a common type of plastic utilized in liquid bottles and food packaging. 

The PET Recycling Coalition aims to advance the circularity of all packaging. The US’s recycling woes 
The Recycling Partnership highlights that while eliminating unnecessary plastic usage is an important component of circularity, increased PET recycling is another critical step in advancing circularity. 

This goal along with company commitments and recycled content mandates in proposed US legislation is leading to high demand for rPET, but supply is limited. 

Most Americans with recycling access are able to recycle PET bottles; however, just 54% can recycle other types of PET packaging like plastic egg cartons and fruit containers. Furthermore, the recycling rate for PET bottles was only 26.6% in 2021. 

While most PET never makes it into the recycling bin due to insufficient access and participation, as much as 17% of recovered bottles are lost at Materials Recovery Facilities due to sortation challenges. By supporting solutions identified by the PET Recycling Coalition, there is an opportunity to increase recovery, reduce plastic waste and help progress toward packaging circularity goals, says The Recycling Partnership.

PET is in high demand for use in food packaging and textiles.Boosting circularity through grants
The PET Recycling Coalition will make grants to recycling facilities for sorting equipment and related capital needs. These upgrades are said to improve PET bottle capture, deliver more rPET for use back into bottles and thermoforms, increase the acceptance of non-bottle rigid items in community recycling programs, and strengthen recycling opportunities for pigmented and opaque PET. 

Through grants, technical assistance and knowledge sharing, the coalition envisions a PET recycling system that captures significantly more material, enabling more circular PET packaging with increased amounts of recycled content.  

“The Recycling Partnership is dedicated to building a stronger US recycling system, including material-focused efforts, such as the PET Recycling Coalition. The success of these material-specific coalitions shows us that when we take a systems approach, we’re able to lift up that targeted material and other recyclables in the bin as well,” says Keefe Harrison, CEO at The Recycling Partnership. “We encourage all companies that use PET to join the Coalition and be part of the solution.” 

Julie Gehrki, VP of the Walmart Foundation, adds: “The Walmart Foundation is committed to programs that enable system-wide transformations – and this effort is a critical element of scaling on the infrastructure needed for PET circularity. The Walmart Foundation looks forward to working with the Coalition on transforming the recycling sector – and setting the foundation for designing a more circular economy for all.”

The PET Recycling Coalition is aided by an advisory committee of industry leaders, including the American Beverage Association, Association of Plastic Recyclers, Closed Loop Partners, Foodservice Packaging Institute, National Association for PET Container Resources and RRS. In addition to serving on the advisory committee, RRS will serve as the Coalition’s technical partner and inform the Coalition’s strategy with supporting research.

Edited

By Natalie Schwertheim