Across the world people are learning that not all plastics packaging is the same. A unique type of recyclable plastic called Polyethylene Terephthalate – or PET – is commonly used for soft drink and water bottles. Today PET bottles are the most recycled plastic packaging in the world. This is set to increase as the world adopts a shared responsibility to end plastic waste. The coming decade will see collection of post-consumer beverage bottles reach close to 100%. Recycling is critical to our sustainable future as it delivers fewer greenhouse gases and less waste.
As the world’s largest manufacturer of PET packaging, Indorama Ventures is working to improve the sustainability of the sector as they believe that the recyclable properties of PET will drive growth in the sector as: Consumers want sustainable and recyclable packaging; PET bottles are widely collected and can be recycled into new bottles or textiles. Many governments plan to collect 90% of post-consumer PET bottles; Global brands have targets to increase recycled content in beverage packaging.
Brands are including more and more recycled content in their packaging to meet consumer demands. Global names like Cola-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever, Danone and Nestle have all made ambitious commitments to include up to 100% recycled plastics in their packaging. They recognize the value of PET, not just from an economical view, but also from a holistic sustainability standpoint.
In 2019, Indorama pledged $1.5 billion to increase recycled content volumes by at least 750,000 tonnes by 2025. To put this in context, in March 2020, Indorama recycled their 50 billionth PET bottle since they started in 2011. Their investment will see the company recycle 50 billion bottles per year by 2025. To do this, Indorama is building the infrastructure the world needs to close the loop and deliver a circular economy for PET packaging.
Read the full article from the World Economic Forum here.
