NAPCOR: US PET bottle recycling rate falls to 29% in 2025

The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) has published its 2025 PET Recycling Report, an analysis of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling in the United States and North America. The annual report covers PET bottle collection and recycling rates, PET thermoform recovery, recycled PET (rPET) end markets and the market dynamics that affect the recycling industry. According to the report, the US PET bottle recycling rate fell to 29.0% in 2025, down from 30.2% in 2024. The total volume of post-consumer PET bottles collected for recycling in the US declined for the second year in a row, by 3.6%, from 1,889 million pounds in 2024 to 1,821 million pounds in 2025. During the same period, the volume of PET bottles available for recycling increased by 0.6%, from 6,248 million pounds to 6,286 million pounds.

The North American PET bottle collection rate, which covers the US, Canada and Mexico, was 36.0%, compared with 39.2% in 2024. Since NAPCOR began tracking this indicator in 2019, the rate has remained above 30% every year. This exceeds the threshold set by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to show that recycling works "in practice and at scale."

"Our 2025 PET Recycling Report demonstrates growing demand for recycled PET plastic, particularly in new bottle applications, alongside significant challenges to grow collection and processing of material here in the United States," said Laura Stewart, Executive Director of NAPCOR. "More recycled PET is being used to make new bottles than ever before, and average recycled content in US PET bottles has reached an all-time high. These milestones demonstrate the progress and potential of PET's circular economy."

Key findings of the 2025 report

Despite lower PET bottle collection rates, the report identifies growth areas and changes in demand across the PET recycling value chain:

• Record use of recycled PET in bottles and record recycled content: in 2025, 69% of PET recycled in the US and Canada was used to make new PET bottles, the highest level ever recorded. Average rPET content in US bottles reached 22.9%, up from a revised 20.7% in 2024. Some 2024 figures have been updated since the publication of the 2024 PET Recycling Report to reflect new information.
• Increased PET thermoform reclamation: US and Canadian reclaimers processed a record 226 million pounds of post-consumer PET thermoforms in 2025. At the same time, total thermoform collection, including exports for recovery, declined from 264 million pounds in 2024 to 247 million pounds in 2025. The decline reflects lower exports, while higher domestic reclamation shows continued progress in recovering PET packaging other than bottles.
• Growing demand for recycled PET: total rPET sales to US and Canadian end markets increased by 5.6% compared with 2024; the growth was driven entirely by imports.
• Changing import dynamics: imported rPET accounted for a record 39.1% of total rPET use in the US and Canadian markets, up from 35.5% in 2024, which means unprecedented competition for domestic PET reclaimers.

The findings also reflect significant changes in the economics of domestic PET recycling, with implications for reclaimers, packaging manufacturers and the wider supply chain.

Concerns over domestic reclamation capacity

"We are pleased to see that bottle-to-bottle recycling has reached unprecedented levels," said Tom Busard, NAPCOR Board Chair, Chief Polymers and Recycling Officer for Plastipak Packaging, Inc., and President of Clean Tech, Plastipak's recycling affiliate. "We are concerned, however, that to meet these new heights, the industry has had to resort to more imported rPET due to a loss of domestic reclamation capacity and pounds processed. A strong domestic recycling industry is essential to maintaining a reliable supply of high-quality recycled material and supporting American manufacturing."

"A circular economy depends on strong domestic systems that collect, process, and reuse materials close to where they're consumed," added Laura Stewart. "Growing reliance on imported recycled PET undermines the domestic infrastructure needed to keep PET in circulation and limits growth opportunities. Harmonized extended producer responsibility programs, expanded deposit return systems, and federal incentives for recycling infrastructure can help strengthen domestic reclamation capacity and build a more competitive, resilient US recycling industry."