PET Is the Most Widely Recycled Plastic in the World

PET is the most recycled plastic in the world with more than 3 billion pounds of used PET bottles and containers collected annually in North America (US, Canada, and Mexico) to be recycled. PET bottles and jars are accepted in virtually all recycling programs in the United States and Canada.

After collection, postconsumer PET is purchased by reclaimers who wash, grind, and further process PET containers to produce a recycled resin ready for reuse in a variety of end products.

Learn more about PET recovery in the video below, and more about the environmental impacts of PET versus alternative packaging here.

Looking to learn more about the PET recycling process?

Recycling makes a difference. It really does! Each recycled plastic PET bottle has a positive impact on our local and global communities in terms of resource conservation, local jobs, and related infrastructure. Early education and habit forming behaviors can go a long way in ensuring that PET containers get recycled over and over again.

Understanding how recycled containers are processed and manufactured into new items helps us take ownership of the process. It becomes much more than just tossing a PET container into a recycling bin.

Recycling Resources
The Association of Plastics Recyclers has several resources for PET recycling as well as other plastics. Learn more at PlasticsRecycling.org.

NAPCOR member Plastipak has an informative website about PET and HDPE recycling, including videos. Learn more at Recycling Counts.

Are you a recycling educator? Our video above is a good starting place so feel free to use and share it, but we also encourage you to check out Waste Hero resources which includes materials that you can use in the classroom. Click the link here.