PET Sales, Recycling, and Wasting

PET Sales, Recycling, and Wasting

Line graph of PET sales, wasting, and recycling from 1991 to 2009

  SOLD RECYCLED   WASTED
YEAR thousand tons thousand tons Recycling rate thousand tons
1991 609 152 24.9% 457
1992 694 201 29.0% 493
1993 757 224 29.6% 533
1994 857 273 31.9% 584
1995 973 322 33.1% 650
1996 1,138 316 27.8% 822
1997 1,276 325 25.4% 951
1998 1,453 355 24.4% 1,098
1999 1,625 370 22.8% 1,255
2000 1,722 379 22.0% 1,343
2001 1,884 417 22.1% 1,466
2002 2,004 399 19.9% 1,605
2003 2,146 421 19.6% 1,726
2004 2,319 502 21.6% 1,817
2005 2,538 585 23.1% 1,953
2006 2,713 636 23.4% 2,077
2007 2842.0 698 24.6% 2,144.0
2008 2683 726 27.0% 1,958.0
2009 2575.0 722 28.0% 1,853.0

Data from American Chemistry Council, NAPCOR

Note the PET recycling rates listed here are inflated, as they include non-PET material (such as polypropylene caps, labels and glue, and other contaminants) that are shipped in the bales of PET to be recycled. See PET Recycling vs. Utilization Rates for a more accurate depiction of the amount of actual PET that gets recycled.

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