Around half of all PET bottles in Europe were collected for recycling in 2011, according to a new 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, published on Friday (July 13), says that more than 1.59 million tonnes of PET bottles were collected across the 27 EU Member States, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, a collection rate of 51%.
This means that 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.
Roberto Bertaggia, chairman of Petcore, said: “I am delighted that the PET collection rate has broken the 50% barrier in Europe. The extra 140 Kilo tonnes collected in 2011 represent a further 5.6 billion bottles to be recycled. The PET industry chain has worked with compliance agencies, national bodies and European recyclers to achieve the record collection of nearly 1.6 Million tonnes of PET bottles. We pledge to continue to develop and promote PET’s recyclability”.
Source: Letsrecycle.com