Petcore Europe has published recycling rates for the 2016 stock of PET bottles in Western Europe, finding a significant increase in circulation and recycling across the PET supply.
Out of 3.147.000 tonnes of PET bottles and containers placed in Western Europe in 2016, 60 per cent, 1,880,900 tonnes - were collected and 1,773,200 tonnes mechanically recycled.
These conclusions come from the annual PCI Wood Mackenzie PET recycle survey for West Europe in 2016, commissioned by Petcore Europe. It shows that the collection rates increased by 7.4 per cent, while the recycling rates also grew by 7.3 per cent. In 2016, that resulted in 129.400 tonnes more collected and 120.000 tonnes more recycled PET compared to 2014.
Paola Arlotti from Equipolymers, Petcore Europe President, said: “These PET collection and recycling rates are unreached in the plastics packaging industry while it is worth mentioning that PET recyclers still have unexploited capacities for recycling. The figures clearly outline the crucial role of PET in a Circular Economy and for reaching the plastics recycling targets currently discussed on EU level."
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Combined volumes for France, Germany and Italy represent 47.9 per cent of the total volume collected in the region, continuing the gradual decline in the top three's share (48.5 per cent in 2014 and 53.3 per cent in 2011). These three largest countries in terms of collection volumes are now joined by two other countries that contribute a significant proportion of the regional total, namely Spain and UK. The combined total share of these five countries in the overall EU collection accounts for 70.9 per cent.
The survey outlines a slightly more positive picture on the clear bottles amount compared to the previous years. Clear bottles accounted for 17.3 per cent of the complete stream revealing an increase of 2.1 per cent on the 2014 share and the first increase in share in five years.
Christian Crepet, Petcore Europe Executive Director, said: "This is an encouraging sign for recyclers and hopefully this increased share is set to continue. However, the quality of bales with additionally a total share of 26.4 per cent clear/light blue bottles, 25.5 per cent mixed colours including green/brown bottles, and 30.8 per cent of unspecified mixed colours clearly continues to challenge the recycling industry. Therefore, we believe that there is a vital need for a detailed analysis of the unspecified waste stream which will be part of the 2018 study commissioned by Petcore Europe."
Casper van den Dungen, Petcore Europe Vice-President, said: “Regarding the quality of the bales, a shift to more high-quality markets also requires a stable and high level sorted input. The survey confirms an increased waste ratio at the recycling stage. Therefore, efficiency increase in collection and sorting is needed and would also contribute to the cost reduction of the total system in the long term.”
Compared to 2014, the capacity increased by 2.5 per cent and the actual processed volume grew by 7.2 per cent. With an actual processed PET amount of 1.773.200 tonnes and the nominal input capacity of 2.147.600 tonnes, the industry average operating rate approached 83 per cent in 2016, compared to 79 per cent in 2014.
"This is a positive result, especially considering all the challenges that the r-PET industry is facing: low virgin resin prices, r-PET pricing, pressure on margins, decreasing quality of bales and rising process loss," concluded Crepet.