Plastic bottle recycling in the USA rose by 3.3% to more than 1.4m t in 2014, helped by increased single-stream collection of household recyclables, according to figures released jointly by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR, Washington DC / USA; www.plasticsrecycling.org) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC, Washington DC / USA; www.americanchemistry.com). Recycling rates have also been lifted thanks to the continued lightweighting of bottles and an increased use of concentrates with smaller, lighter bottles – which have offset the expansion in the use of plastic bottles in packaging applications.

The recycling collection rate for plastic bottles climbed by 1.0 percentage point to 31.8%, the trade bodies said in the “2014 United States national post-consumer plastics bottle recycling report”. The report is based on a survey of reclaimers conducted by Moore Recycling Associates (Sonoma, California / USA; www.moorerecycling.com). Recycling rates increased for HDPE and PP bottle resins but declined for PET bottle resins.

PET bottles collected for recycling climbed by 0.8% to about 821,000 t, but recycling collection rate dipped slightly from 31.2% in 2013 to 31.0% in 2014. HDPE bottles collected rose by 5.9% to about 503,000 t and the HDPE bottle recycling collection rate rose to 33.6% from 31.6%. PP bottle recycling collection surged by 28% to about 36,000 t, with 57% of the total processed domestically as deliberate PP material, as opposed to mixed material flake combined with HDPE. The collection rate for PP bottles rose to 44.9% in 2014 from 31.8% in 2013. PET and HDPE bottles continue to make up nearly 97% of the US market for plastic bottles, with PP accounting for 1.9%, LDPE 0.8% and PVC 0.4%.

Exports of all post-consumer plastic bottle bales rose slightly in 2014 compared with 2013 but fell to the lowest percentage of total exports in six years, 21.9%, as the amount collected increased faster than exports. HDPE exports rose substantially in 2014, while PET exports continued to fall in terms of both tonnage and percentage of material collected. Exports of recycled PP bottles rose in 2014 to 25% of that collected, even as more material was processed domestically.

Looking at end use markets for recycled bottles, natural HDPE post-consumer recycled resin continued to mainly be used for non-food application bottles such as for detergent, motor oil and household cleaners, as well as for film. Pigmented HDPE recycled resins were used mainly for pipe, lawn products and non-food application bottles. PET post-consumer resin retained its traditional markets for fibre, film and sheet as well as food bottles.

Barriers to growth in bottle recycling include the fact that too many consumers are unaware of the usefulness and value of recycled plastics and a lack of sufficient convenient access to recycling collection opportunities for products used away from the home. The report also notes that the rise in single stream collection of household recyclables has created additional challenges caused by contaminated bales of bottles, with bale yields as low as in recent years.

“The message to American consumers is that plastic bottles are valuable resources even after they’ve been used,” said Steve Alexander, executive director of APR. “Americans generated an estimated USD 730m (EUR 680m) in recycled plastic bottles in 2014. The simple act of recycling helps generate local revenue, supports recycling jobs, and enables us to continue to benefit from these useful resources.”

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“2014 United States national post-consumer plastics bottle recycling report” as a PDF file