A nationwide effort launched to increase the amount of PET recycled has distributed more than $5 million in two years, resulting in 29 million additional pounds (13,154 tonnes) of the resin reprocessed annually.
The PET Recycling Coalition is part of The Recycling Partnership, which aims to increase curbside collection of all recyclables, not just plastics.
The coalition, in a new report, said 24 million pounds of additional bottle PET and 5 million pounds of additional non-bottle PET is being captured, processed and added to the recycling stream rather than heading to landfills thanks to the group's funding.
"The coalition's first annual report demonstrates how collective action is making it possible for more PET to be recycled and transformed into future packaging," said Brittany LaValley, vice president of materials advancement at the partnership, in a statement. "We have much to celebrate and much to strive for to increase the circularity of PET as we continue to connect the right people, ideas, funding, and solutions."
In just a decade, The Recycling Partnership has become a major funding source to advance recycling efforts. The non-profit group has provided more than $70 million through 450 grants to improve access, infrastructure and education. A key component to the group's work has been working with local governments to provide improved recycling access through the deployment of residential recycling carts.
But the group also provides funding to recyclers themselves to improve operations to capture more material, including PET. The PET Recycling Coalition formed in 2022 with an aim improving recycling rates for that particular resin. The Recycling Partnership previously launched a separate, similar effort for polypropylene.
PET coalition grants aim to enable "MRF facility upgrades, improved sortation capabilities, and community engagement needed to boost recycling rates of residential PET, non-bottle PET, and pigmented and opaque PET," the partnership said.
The group wants to capture an additional 250 million pounds of used PET by the end of 2027.
That is not a lot of time to significantly increase the coalition's impact. And that is not lost on organizers. A key obstacle is a common one: money.
"We have our sights set on achieving greater impact and systems change through on-the ground action and strategic funding for creative and impactful solutions. And, we have the right partners at the table working with us day in and day out to overcome the barriers we face to building a better recycling system — one that we all deserve and must have to achieve our collective impact," the report states.
"There is also the stark realization that achieving our goals will require more members, more ingenuity, and more funding. Since 2022, we have distributed $5.12M in grants to 23 grantees yet we were unable to fulfill the nearly $15M in additional funding requests," the group writes.
The coalition says it needs help to provide more funding to push PET recycling numbers higher.
"This is a call to action to help us shrink the gap between what is needed and what can be accomplished. We have the solutions and, together, we have the network needed to accomplish our goals. With your help we can raise the $52M required to reach our current goals. We are calling on more brands, retailers and converters that have PET in their portfolio to work with us," the report states.