Over half of Europe’s PET bottles collected for recycling

Europe – More than 60 million PET bottles were collected for recycling in Europe last year, according to industry association Petcore Europe. That equates to a collection rate of more than 52% compared to 51% the previous year.

The increase has helped to ease overcapacity issues in the region, and recyclers now have an average plant utilisation rate of 80%, says Petcore Europe.

Last year, all but two EU member states achieved PET recycling rates above the waste directive target for plastics of 22.5%. The largest end-market for recycled PET was fibres but the sheet and bottle markets are both showing ‘strong growth’, according to the association.

Source: Petcore Europe