Report
PET recycling not always the best option, says new report
A report by SRI Consulting (SRIC) entitled ‘PET’s Carbon Footprint: to recycle or not to recycle’ has suggested recycling bottles may not be the universally green solution.
The independent evaluation looked at the carbon footprint of PET bottles, with an analysis of secondary packaging from cradle to grave and from production of raw materials through to disposal.
It concluded that for countries with adequate space and little recycling infrastructure, disposing of bottles in landfill generates a lower carbon footprint than recycling or incineration.
In a press release, SRIC said: Recycling programmes using curb-side collection typically displace less than 50% of new PET. Community programmes with plastic bottle take-back, mandated separate collection, or deposits on bottles tend to report much higher displacement rates. For regions that already have a recycling infrastructure, the aim should be to boost recycled PET (rPET) displacement of virgin PET (vPET) significantly above 50%.
Mike Arné, assistant director, SRIC’s Carbon Footprint Initiative, said: “The key to this is not in raising collection rates, but in improving yields, especially in sorting and to a lesser extent in reprocessing. For countries without a recycling infrastructure, the best choice may well be to landfill bottles.”
Report findings
- Shipping distances are not footprint critical – the common practice of shipping baled PET bottles to China for recycling does not significantly affect the footprint.
- Incineration creates the highest footprint – burning used bottles in waste incinerators converts them largely to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Even if power and heat is generated from the incinerator, the net effect is still carbon positive.
- PET recyclate has a lower footprint than new virgin PET – manufacturers making product from recycled PET, such as straps, films and fibres, should be able to claim that they are lower carbon than alternatives made from new PET.
Source: SRI Consulting
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