Have a Question? We’ve Got Answers.

Yes. The PET bottle itself poses no danger when refilled. PET is an inert plastic and does not leach harmful amounts of materials into its contents, either when a beverage is stored unopened, or when bottles are refilled or frozen. The PET container has been safely used for many years and has undergone rigorous testing under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines to ensure its safety as a food and beverage container suitable for storage and reuse.

Opened bottles can harbor bacteria, however, as will mugs, glasses or any other beverage container. PET bottles are no more likely to foster bacteria than any other packaging or drink container. Ideally, all drinking containers—including PET bottles—should be washed with hot, soapy water and dried thoroughly prior to reuse.

Refillable PET carbonated soft drink bottles have been used in Latin America and Europe for many years with no safety issues. Bottles are washed carefully before refilling. Consumer preferences led to one-way bottles use in North America

For additional information about plastics rumors, visit www.PlasticsMythBuster.org.

Yes. There are no dangers inherent in the freezing of PET bottles, and absolutely no truth to the internet-circulated rumors that dioxins are leached from frozen PET bottles into bottle contents. Dioxin is a chlorine-containing chemical that has no role or presence in the chemistry of PET plastic. Furthermore, dioxins are part of a family of chemical compounds typically formed only by combustion at temperatures well above 700 degrees Fahrenheit—not at room temperature or below.

Companies select PET packaging because it is safe, recyclable, convenient and suitable for food and beverage. The FDA has reviewed migration testing data and concluded that PET containers do not leach harmful amounts of substances into their contents under foreseeable and intended conditions of use.

Yes. Antimony (a common additive in PET packaging) can only leach into a product if the bottle is exposed to high heat over an extended period of time. Research has shown that it would take nearly 6 months of continuous exposure to 140 degree heat in order for the concentration of antimony to exceed maximum contaminant levels established by the EPA. That means leaving a PET bottle in a hot car for a day (or even a month!) will not compromise the safety of the product.

No. There is no connection between PET plastic and BPA.

BPA is not used in the production of PET material; it is not used as a chemical building block for any of the materials used in the manufacture of PET, nor is it part of the PET recycling process.

PET water, other beverage, food and non-food bottles and containers do not contain BPA and never have.

No. “Phthalates” (pronounced THAL-ates) are a class of chemicals that includes three subsets, each with very different properties. PET belongs to one of these phthalate subsets, terephthalates, but not the one most commonly associated with the term “phthalate.”

Orthophthalate is the phthalate subset most commonly referenced and discussed in popular literature and on internet sites as “phthalate”; it has been the subject of some negative press. Often used to make various plastics more flexible, this type of phthalate is used to make plasticizers.

PET does not contain plasticizers. Orthophthalates are never substituted for the terephthalates used in the manufacture of PET, nor are the two different chemicals ever mixed to make PET. Further, orthophthalates are NOT part of the PET recycling process.

PET packaging is selected by companies for a wide variety of product applications because it is safe, strong, shatterproof rigid, and recyclable.

Antimony in chemical form is often used as a catalyst in the production of PET plastic. Catalysts speed chemical reactions and are commonly used in manufacturing to ensure that a process happens fast enough to make it commercially practical. Catalysts in PET are used at the part-per-million level.

The element antimony is chosen based on its performance compared to various selection criteria including safety—there are few, if any, adverse effects—productivity, final appearance of the plastic, and an acceptable overall cost. Antimony oxide, the antimony chemical form in PET, has been used and researched for decades. Metallic antimony is not used to make PET and is the chemical form that is considered a health risk.

In the science of toxic effects (toxicology), two key factors are used to determine a hazard: 1) How dangerous is the material and 2) How much of the material is released (i.e, exposure). A 1997 study showed that antimony oxide has very low toxicity (1). The compound is relatively inert and does not participate in biological life. As for how much antimony oxide is released from PET, long-term studies indicate that it’s very little. A report by the International Life Sciences Institute showed “less than five parts per billion” being released into liquid contents (2). This is compliant with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Primary Drinking Water Standard. Multiplied together, antimony oxide’s very low toxicity combined with very low exposure means very, very low risk. Its use in PET does not endanger workers, consumers or the environment.

1 APME technical dossier on The Toxicological Properties of Antimony Oxide, 1997, subject of a petition to the EU Scientific Committee on Food (SCF)

2 Report on Packaging Materials:  International Life Sciences Institute (Europe) 2000 Report on PET for Food Packaging

No. There is no connection between BPS and PET.

BPS is not used in the production of PET material; it is not used as a chemical building block for any of the materials used in the manufacture of PET, nor is it part of the PET recycling process.

PET water, other beverage, food and non-food bottles and containers do not contain BPS and never have.

A PET bottle can be recycled over and over again. It’s true that there’s some change in the recycled PET that occurs with repeated recycling heat histories, but these can be addressed during the recycling process.

Recycled PET (rPET) is used to make new PET bottles, as well as non-bottle thermoforms such as deli, bakery and produce containers, cake domes, trays, cups, etc. Recycled PET is also used in many fiber applications from carpets to clothing to fiberfill stuffing for soft furnishings. Other uses include strapping for shipping containers, car trunk liners, and other industrial applications. Read More

We are justifiably excited by the idea of a bottle being recycled back into another package again and again. PET’s properties in particular allow it to be successfully recycled and safely incorporated back into packaging, whether food and beverage or other. And yet, replacing virgin PET material with recycled PET in longer-life goods — whether carpet, fleecewear or a car liner — means significantly reduced GHGs, energy consumption, and emissions for those products. The question should not be an ‘either/or’ choice, but how can we do both. Recycled PET can be reused in both durable and packaging uses and should be for the maximum environmental benefit and economic robustness.
Read More

Plastic caps, closures and neck rings can be left on bottles and are not considered contaminants in the recycling process. Bottle closures are typically made of polypropylene or polyethylene, plastics with a specific gravity different from PET’s. The difference means that caps and neck rings can be separated from bottles using a float/sink process. The denser PET material sinks in water while the cap and label material floats, making the materials easy to separate. The plastic cap material is also recyclable. Metal closures and neck rings are a contaminant to the PET stream and should not be left on a PET package when recycled. Learn more about recycling compatible package design.

Yes, we call these companies that wash and further process recycled PET “reclaimers” and maintain a list of reclaimers in the U.S. and Canada. Some use the clean, processed recycled PET directly back in their own products, and others sell to a variety of end market users.

The industry standards for PET bales are referred to as “model” bale specifications and are meant to provide a benchmark to suppliers and buyers of all bale types. The newest version of industry-vetted model bale specifications for PET include bale “gradings” that are intended to provide standardized, industry-agreed, voluntary metrics for discussing and assessing PET bale quality.

These model bale specifications were developed jointly by NAPCOR and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), the trade organization for plastics recyclers in North America. View and download the current PET bale specifications with gradings and sample test method. ISRI, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, a US-based trade association for scrap commodities, also lists the current model PET bale specifications.

Incorporating recycling-friendly design into packaging innovations is critically important to the long-term viability of the recycling industry. For many years, NAPCOR has worked closely with another trade organization, the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), which serves as the industry-recognized repository of design for recyclability guidelines for all plastic resins. For PET, these guidelines cover the PET package as well as components such as labels and closures. Visit the APR site for more detailed information.

PET collected in your recycling bin or community drop-off generally goes to a materials recovery facility (MRF) where it is separated from other recyclables and compressed into dense blocks or “bales” of PET containers for transport, each weighing approximately 1,000 pounds. Bales then go to a PET processor or “reclaimer” where the PET material is further sorted, ground into flake and washed. Depending on the intended end-use market, the clean PET flake will undergo various levels of additional processing to screen impurities, increase the rPET density and intrinsic viscosity (akin to “runny-ness,” or more scientifically, molecular weight), and/or improve the overall consistency of the recycled resin. Many PET reclaimers have FDA-approved processes to make food-grade plastic packaging material. Check out our short animated video to learn more about the recycling process.

In many communities PET thermoforms, such as produce or deli clamshells, are accepted for recycling, but not in all. Check with your local recycling service provider or drop-off location.

For MRFs or other intermediate processors looking to accept and market PET thermoforms, check with your market(s) since some reclaimers will accept thermoforms in with PET bottles at agreed percentages, providing material is auto-sorted to reduce non-PET contamination. Auto-sorting uses near infra-red spectroscopy to identify different plastic resins and then separate them. Read more about NAPCOR’s work on PET thermoform recycling.

Consumers like PET packaging because it is lightweight, safe, shatter-resistant, resealable and recyclable — an effective combination for home, work and leisure usage. Package designers also appreciate PET’s recyclability as well as its clarity, toughness, rigidity, scope for innovative design potential across various market sectors, and barrier properties that help retain product freshness. For more, go to Why PET?