RPET recycling market – NAPCOR Highlights Rising RPET Imports and Expanding US Recycling Capacity as 2024 Strengthens North America’s Circular Economy and Drives Progress Across the RPET Recycling Market 11-12-2025
RPET recycling market
The North American PET landscape experienced major shifts in 2024, with the new annual report from the National Association for PET Container Resources revealing a year defined by record imports, declining domestic demand, and rapid growth in alternative feedstock recovery. These developments highlight the evolving dynamics of the RPET recycling market as producers, reclaimers, and policymakers navigate pricing pressures and changing consumer behavior.
Record RPET Imports Reshape Supply
One of the most notable findings from the 30th annual PET recycling analysis is that RPET imports into North America reached the highest level ever recorded. Imported material represented nearly one quarter of the total RPET supply in 2024, making international sourcing a central part of the RPET recycling market. RPET recycling market
At the same time, total RPET consumption in the United States and Canada fell by 3 percent from the prior year to 1.733 billion pounds. The decline reflects weaker domestic demand as manufacturers reacted to shifting price dynamics, slower end-use markets, and reduced appetite for recycled inputs in certain packaging categories.
Sales from North American reclaimers decreased by 7 percent, while imports surged by 14 percent to 395 million pounds. A significant price gap between domestically produced RPET and lower-cost imported resin has played a major role in this shift, incentivizing companies to purchase either virgin PET or cheaper RPET sourced from abroad. These dynamics mirror trends seen in Europe, where oversupply and weak demand have contributed to multiple recycling facility closures. RPET recycling market
Recycling Demand Levels Off as Market Waits for Rebound
The weakening demand for end-use applications extended into the broader PET industry. Major resin producers, including Eastman and Indorama, expressed expectations that recovery may not materialize until 2026 as manufacturers continue working through excess inventory.
The PET bottle recycling rate in the United States fell to 30.2 percent in 2024, down from 32.5 percent in the prior year. Although the rate has hovered around 30 percent for the past decade, the decline highlights ongoing challenges within collection and processing systems.
US collection of PET bottles dropped by 3.9 percent to 1.889 billion pounds. The prior year marked the highest total ever recorded at 1.965 billion pounds, making the 2024 decrease particularly notable. Of the bottles collected, 88 percent were processed by US reclaimers, a slight increase from the previous year. Domestic reclaimers supplemented household bottles with imported materials and non-traditional feedstocks, bringing total PET processed in the US to 1.966 billion pounds, an increase of 1.5 percent.
These trends highlight the need for stronger domestic recovery systems and greater support for the RPET recycling market to ensure long-term supply stability.
More PET Available but Less Used in Bottles
Even as collection softened, the availability of PET bottles for recycling increased. Total PET bottles available for recovery in the US rose by 3.5 percent to 6.248 billion pounds. Despite this growth, the average share of RPET used in US bottles remained unchanged at 15.9 percent. This stagnation was driven by increased virgin PET usage and softer nationwide demand for RPET in bottle applications.
For the first time since 2018, the volume of RPET used in food and beverage bottles decreased, even though the share of RPET used within bottle applications reached a new high of 62 percent. Virgin PET usage in food and beverage bottles increased, while personal care and non-food packaging categories saw a continued decline in RPET incorporation.
These outcomes capture a critical challenge for the RPET recycling market: while more recycled content rules and brand commitments are emerging, uneven demand across applications continues to affect material flow and stability.
Non-Bottle Recycling Surges as New Technologies Scale
A bright spot in the 2024 report is the massive growth in non-bottle PET recovery across the United States and Canada. Reclaimers processed nearly four times more non-traditional feedstocks compared with 2023. This category includes thermoforms, process scrap, and other non-bottle PET materials.
The expansion was driven largely by depolymerization technologies finally operating at commercial scale, offering new pathways for difficult-to-recycle materials. Eastman’s methanolysis facility in Tennessee, one of the industry’s flagship chemical recycling operations, significantly increased production in 2024.
In total, 264 million pounds of PET thermoforms were recovered in 2024, a 52 percent increase from the prior year. The rapid growth reflects multiple factors including wider acceptance of thermoforms as feedstock, improved AI-enhanced sorting capabilities, and adjustments to reporting methodology that now more accurately capture thermoform content in bale streams.
Despite these impressive recovery gains, demand for post-consumer PET thermoforms has not kept pace. The report characterizes market demand for thermoform-derived RPET as inconsistent, meaning additional policy support and end-market development will be essential for long-term stability in the RPET recycling market.
A Call for Stronger Domestic Infrastructure
The overall report emphasizes the importance of continued investment in domestic recycling systems. Increased imports, volatile demand, and inconsistent recovery of specific materials underscore the need for modernized infrastructure, improved policies, and expanded end markets.
The findings illustrate the complexity of the RPET recycling market as it evolves under global competitive pressure and shifting material economics. Ensuring stable, economically viable recycling systems will require a combination of technological investment, stronger feedstock access, and sustained demand for recycled content across multiple packaging segments.
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