Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
PET bottle recycling
open-in-new
<p>Polyethylene Terephthalate (<a href="/facts/Polyethylene_terephthalate/Sc5UhmCB">PET</a>) is one of the most common polymers in its polyester family. Its global market size was estimated to be worth 37.25 billion USD in 2021. Polyethylene terephthalate is used in several applications such as; textile fibres, bottles, rigid/flexible packaging, and electronics. However, it accounts for 12% in global solid waste. This is why bottle recycling is highly encourage and has reached its highest level in decades (33% in 2023). In 2023, the US collected 1,962 million pounds of bottles for recycling. Compared to glass bottles, the <a href="/facts/Polyethylene_terephthalate/Sc5UhmCB">PET</a> bottle is lightweight and has a lower carbon footprint in production and transportation. Recycling it would only help further the emission reduction. The recycled material can be put back into bottles, fibres, film, thermoformed packaging and strapping. </p><p>After collecting the bottles from landfills, they are sorted, cleaned and grinded. This grinded material is 'bottle flake,' which is then processed by either: </p> <ul><li>'Basic' or 'physical' recycling. Bottle flake is melted into its new shape directly with basic changes in its physical properties.</li> <li>'Chemical' or 'advanced' recycle. Bottle flake is partially or totally depolymerized then enabling purification. The resulting oligomers or monomers are repolymerized to PET polymer, which is then processed in the same way as virgin polymer.</li></ul> <p>In either case, the resulting feedstock is known as "r-PET" or "<a href="https://bottledwater.org/rpet-facts/">rPET</a>". This stands for "recycled PET." The carbon footprint of this recycled PET is significantly lower than <a href="/facts/Polyethylene_terephthalate/Sc5UhmCB">PET</a>. In fact, it's 79% lower than its virgin <a href="/facts/Polyethylene_terephthalate/Sc5UhmCB">PET</a> counterpart. Virgin <a href="/facts/Polyethylene_terephthalate/Sc5UhmCB">PET</a> has a carbon footprint of 2.5kg C02 per kg while <a href="https://bottledwater.org/rpet-facts/">rPET</a> has a footprint of 0.45kg C02 per kg. </p>