Industry Experts Unite to Define PET Thermoform Packaging Recycling Pathways

Project partner NAPCOR reports that the volume of PET thermoform material recycled in the U.S. surpassed 100 million pounds in 2018.

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): The Foodservice Packaging Institute has organized a group of industry partners to examine recycling of PET thermoform packaging. The group is conducting a study to further understand the PET thermoform packaging recycling stream and define the most cost-effective and practical pathways for recovering it. Through the study, the group hopes to establish a common understanding of the most impactful opportunities to increase PET thermoform recycling. PET thermoform packaging includes cups, lids, clamshells, bowls, produce, deli, bakery and take-out containers, as well as other types of consumer packaging.

In partnership with FPI, the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) The Recycling Partnership and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) will pool data and resources to gain a more thorough understanding of this complex issue. The study is being conducted by Resource Recycling Systems (RRS).

“Each partner has been working to increase recycling of PET thermoforms in different ways, so it’s important to bring all parties together to find a solution,” said Natha Dempsey, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. “While we’re making progress, it just makes sense to combine efforts to define a unified path to increased recyclability for PET thermoforms.”

Project partner NAPCOR reports that the volume of PET thermoform material recycled in the U.S. surpassed 100 million pounds in 2018. Most of this volume was captured in curbside PET bottle bales and processed with bottles by PET reclaimers who accept them at up to specified percentages of the bale weight. However, as thermoform recycling increases, so does the prevalence of thermoforms in residential PET bales, bumping up against the limits of PET bottle reclaimer acceptance levels. The study will further explore this, along with other potential PET thermoform recovery pathways.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com

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