Plastic bottle recycling increases

PET bottle recycling increases significantly across Europe

Around half of all PET bottles in Europe were collected for recycling in 2011. This is according to a report from European plastic recycling trade bodies EuPR and PET Containers Recycling Europe (Petcore). The ‘Post Consumer PET recycling in Europe 2011 and Prospects to 2016’ study found that more than 1.59 million tonnes of PET bottles were collected across the 27 EU Member States, as well as in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, a collection rate of 51%. The capture rate for PET bottles has gone up by almost three percentage points compared to 2010, when 1.45 million tonnes (48.3%) were collected. However, the report predicts that the continent has a total capacity to process around 1.9 million tonnes, meaning that there is potential for a significant rise in the number of bottles that are captured.