PET recycling, recycling plastic bottles and packaging
While the term PET recycling may put the fear of God into pet owners, it has nothing to do with live animals or your family pet!
PET recycling is the industry name for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which is the raw material used in many packaging materials and plastic bottles. Soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, detergents, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products often contain this particular material and many local authorities around the UK now collect PET separately.
However, there are more and more different colours and different varieties of PET packaging and bottles which are making it more and more difficult for the authorities to recycle efficiently. Generally PET products are sorted into transparent, uncoloured, blue and green but we have seen a variety of new packaging products hit the market such as amber plastic beer bottles and the like. The more products which need to be sorted the longer the time it will take and the higher the cost to the local authorities.
While there is no doubt that the recycling of PET packaging products does save a significant amount of money, assist the environment and ultimately will reduce prices in the high street, it is becoming more and more difficult for local authorities. Transparent or uncoloured PET material and those of one pure colour do have a significant value in the marketplace but mixed colour batches have a significantly lower value.