European post-sorting PET collection reached 1.59 million ones in 2011, according to Petcore and EuPR.
This was an increase of 9.4 per cent on 2010 and means the overall collection rate in 2011 was a record 51 per cent of all PET bottles in the market.
Net exports of PET bales to the Far East fell for the third year running with it estimated that the total mechanical reclamation capacity in the EU27+4 countries being 1.9 million tonnes.
EuPR PET working group chairman Casper van den Dungen said: “Capacity utilisation of our recycling plants is only 77 per cent at present. This provides the challenge for municipalities, other collectors and industry to increase the current collection rate event further to load the recycling facilities already in place.
“Nevertheless, the new developments in PET collection must not jeopardise the sound, well-established and most recycled plastic, the PET bottle.”
