Plastic Bottle Recycling on the Ropes 

Container and Packaging Recycling UPDATE v.14, no.1 Summer/Fall 2004 1oct04

[More on PET plastic | Plastic Index]

ARLINGTON Plastic bottle recycling is on the ropes, and so are many of the businesses involved in recycling plastic bottles. The problem is a shortage of used, or "post-consumer" plastic bottles available for recycling. It's not a new problem: demand for scrap bottles has exceeded supply for years, but over the past year it has reached crisis proportions. A June 21 st article in Plastics News began, "Amcor PET Packaging is closing its pioneering recycling facility in Novi, Michigan, a possible sign of deep trouble for PET recyclers in North America.

Robin Cotchan, executive director of the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) said, "The companies are in real trouble because they can't get enough material to supply high-end markets. Amcor is just the first one going out. "If the situation continues, there could be more fallout in the next six to twelve months: plastic bottle recycling is under extreme pressure right now."

While the story has been covered extensively in the trade press, the general public and most policymakers seem to be unaware of the problem. Consumers see the chasing arrows and the word "recyclable" on the bottom of the plastic bottles they buy, and they assume that many if not most— of these bottles are recycled. In reality, only 780 million pounds of plastic bottles were recycled in 2002 out of more than 4,000 million pounds sold: or 1 out of every 5 bottles.

There are plenty of post-consumer plastic bottles, and market demand for them has been consistently strong. The problem is that only about 20% of the post-consumer plastic bottles are being collected for recycling, and a growing percentage of the bottles that are being collected are being exported to Asia. The export issue is not one that is not easily

solved, but bottle bill advocates maintain that more state bottle bills or a national bottle bill could bridge the gap between supply and demand. They point to the proven effectiveness of deposit-return laws as collection infrastructures in the ten U.S. states that supply the lion's share of PET containers to processors: possibly as much as 75% of the PET bottles recycled in the United States, according to CRI.

Plastic bottle reclaimers (those who process bottles for end users) will say privately that they would like to support efforts to pass new and expanded bottle bills. However, because they either buy used bottles from Coke and Pepsi or sell new bottles to the soda companies, reclaimers and end users must remain silent on an issue that the two soft drink giants vehemently oppose.

Both Coke and Pepsi claim that there are other recycling systems that can be equally as successful as deposit laws. But a number of APR members have told CRI that they can't wait much longer for these new collection systems to surface.

One reclaimer recently said, "Time ran out for Amcor. We need to work together to enact something that will get PET recycling back on track before time runs out for others."

Container and Packaging Recycling UPDATE (ISSN 1070-8050) published by the Container Recycling Institute, 1911 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 702 • Arlington, VA 22209 • Tel: 703.276.9800 Fax: 703.276.9587, E-mail: info@Container-Recycling.org • www.Container-Recycling.org • www.BottleBill.org • Editors: Pat Franklin, Jenny Gitlitz • Graphics: Jenny Gitlitz, Manuel Cerrato and Nierria Jones