Landfill is not an option we entertain.” Juan Hernandez, President of Valemi Inc., Coalition Grantee

About the PET Recycling Coalition

Together with brands, communities, recyclers, and plastic manufacturers, the PET Recycling Coalition is taking targeted on-the-ground action to remove barriers to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling and deliver on the benefits of a better recycling system. 

Formed in June 2022, the Coalition builds upon The Recycling Partnership’s years of expertise and industry knowledge to improve the circularity of PET. The Coalition is increasing PET bottle recycling rates, boosting curbside recycling access for non-bottle PET materials, making it easier to collect and process pigmented and opaque PET, and ensuring community participation through awareness and education.

“The PET Recycling Coalition’s work towards getting more PET thermoforms collected and recycled is fully aligned with our mission, and we are proud to play a part in making thermoform recycling more accessible for Americans.”

Dan Kuehn, President and CEO at Plastic Ingenuity

About PET

PET bottles are highly recyclable, yet only 28% are recycled. Other types of PET packaging like plastic egg cartons, fruit containers, trays, and tubs are recycled at a significantly lower rate – 9%.

  • Companies want more recycled PET for packaging to meet corporate commitments and evolving regulatory requirements
  • MRFs want to increase the amount and types of PET forms collected and deliver more PET to reclaimers
  • Reclaimers need more PET from MRFs to increase production of recycled PET to companies for use in new products and packaging

The PET Recycling Coalition is eliminating barriers to improve acceptance, increase capture, and deliver higher-quality recycled PET to responsible end markets.

The Coalition has invested in on-the-ground initiatives in pursuit of three milestones: 

Increase capture by 250 million lbs./year by 2027

The Coalition has awarded grants to Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), secondary sorters, and reclaimers to improve capture and generate more PET material to sell to end markets. One of the first grants resulted in the installation of a robotic sorter at Caglia Environmental that sorts clear PET bottles, thermoforms, and pigmented/opaque PET into separate streams.

Achieve 60% access for PET thermoforms by 2025

Part of the reason thermoforms lag behind their bottle counterparts is a lack of end markets to sell the materials. Part of the Coalition’s plan is supporting innovations in thermoform-to-thermoform recycling, making these materials more valuable for MRFs to capture. This has led to stories like Susan’s, whose son seems to eat his weight in berries. She’s now able to take up to six berry containers a week destined for the landfill in Nashville and simply put them into her curbside recycling bin.

Create resilient recycling at scale for pigmented/opaque PET by 2025

While demand for recycled and re-processed clear bottles outweighs supply, demand for recycled materials from pigmented and opaque PET is insufficient and inconsistent. To reach this milestone, the Coalition is working to strengthen end markets while seeking an improved designation from industry-accepted recyclability assessment programs, making these forms of PET more attractive to all stakeholders.

Results by the Numbers (as of July 2024)

  • To date, 23 recycling facilities have received over $5 million in grants to support increased capture effectiveness and recovery from the residential recycling stream, add capacity, or improve sorting capabilities

  • 29 million new pounds per year of recycled PET

  • 1.4 million households now have access to recycle non-bottle PET 

  • Map: PET grantees as of July 2024

PET Recycling Coalition Grantees, as of July 2024

Are you a recycling processor ready to improve your capture and sort capabilities?

Apply for a Grant

Are you a company that wants to help us chart a path forward for this material?

Become Part of the Coalition

Thank you to our partners and founding members.