The growing national consumption of single-serving water bottles made from raw materials is an unnecessary waste of resources, as dozens of recycling businesses have the capacityto recycle these and other PET bottles. They have an economic interest in recycling. Scrap bottles provide a costsaving alternative to virgin resin both for processors and end-users, who manufacture new bottles and other plastic products. NAPCOR’s ‘2004 Report on Post-Consumer PET Recycling Activity’ stated that ‘Even with the increases posted in 2004, supply remains inadequate [for] all end-use applications at their desired levels.’
Why are scrap PET bottles in short supply? Why, when Americans are throwing away 22 billion plastic water bottles a year, are there not enough scrap bottles for plastics recyclers? One problem is China’s seemingly insatiable appetite for PET, and the inability of domestic recyclers to compete with the prices China is willing to pay.
According to NAPCOR, US exports of scrap PET bottles increased from 143 million pounds (65 million kg) in 1998 to 298 million pounds (135 million kg) in 2004. Exports aside, there were more than 3633 million pounds(1648 million kg) of domestic scrap PET bottles that could have been recycled, but were not.
The broken link between postconsumer PET bottles and plastics processors is the lack of an adequate collection infrastructure.
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