NAPCOR Report Shows Increased Bottle Collection Rate in 2023

The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) has released its 2023 PET Recycling Report. The U.S. PET bottle collection rate was 33% in 2023, up four percentage points from 2022. The average amount of postconsumer recycled (PCR) PET, also known as recycled PET (rPET), used in U.S. bottles and jars was 16.2% in 2023, up 3 percentage points from 2022. This is the highest level ever and demonstrates increased demand for recycled PET nationwide.

The total pounds of PET bottles available for recycling in the U.S. in 2023 was 5,952 million pounds, down 9.8% from 6,599 million pounds in 2022. Domestic sales of both new (also called virgin) and recycled PET resin to non-food/beverage bottle applications (for example, personal care packaging and household cleaners) were down by significant margins compared to 2022.

“PET plastic bottles play a vital role in a circular economy because they can be designed to be remade and our members are working hard to ensure they get recycled,” says Laura Stewart, NAPCOR’s executive director. “NAPCOR’s 2023 PET Recycling Report shows that while there were fewer PET bottles available to recycle in the U.S., there were still more PET bottles recycled in 2023, resulting in a higher recovery percentage. When manufacturers, consumers, retailers and recyclers work together to ensure PET is selected, collected and recycled, our planet reaps the rewards.”

The collection rate of 33% was the highest level in nearly 30 years due to growth in PET plastic bottles collected and fewer bottles available for recycling compared to 2022. The U.S. collected 1,962 million pounds of PET bottles for recycling in 2023, the highest annual weight for U.S. bottle collection recorded, up from 1,911 million pounds in 2022, an increase of 2.7%.

As a result of voluntary brand commitments and legislation including recent mandatory recycled content laws, the trend of increasing rPET content in U.S. bottles has accelerated in recent years after remaining flat between 6% and 7% between 2014 and 2017. The amount of rPET used in U.S. bottles  increased to 966 million pounds in 2023, up from 870 million pounds in 2022, an 11% difference. Of the total usage of recycled PET in U.S. and Canadian end markets, the fraction that went to bottle applications reached a new high of 59% in 2023, surpassing the previous record of 54% in 2022.