Imported RPET hits record 39.1% of US consumption as collection falls

Imported material supplied a record 39.1% of RPET consumed in the US in 2025, up 3.6 percentage points year over year, even as bottle-to-bottle recycling and recycled content both hit all-time highs, according to new data from the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR).

The numbers cut both ways. The US PET bottle recycling rate fell for a second consecutive year, to 29.0% from 30.2% in 2024. US bottle collection dropped 3.6% to 1.821 billion pounds, while bottles available for recycling rose 0.6% to 6.286 billion pounds — squeezing the rate from both directions. Record-low bale prices and plant closures round out a picture of a supply chain out of step with demand.

"There is a whole layer of economic issues that are evident in the 2025 data and have been part of the industry conversation, but now are being borne out in this data," said Lauren Laibach, NAPCOR's director of data services.

Her fix is targeted money: funding or tax incentives for upgrading sortation and processing would improve bale quality, and higher yields from curbside bales would let reclaimers cut their dependence on imports.

What's driving the import share?

RPET sales to US and Canadian end markets grew 5.6% in 2025 — but imports accounted for all of that growth. Domestically, the picture has been shrinking: US and Canadian reclaimer sales across end markets have declined since 2021.

"We're seeing that additional demand, particularly from bottle markets, is very strong, but we actually have seen declining pounds of US and Canadian reclaimer sales across end markets since 2021," Laibach said.

The US has invested heavily in new pelletizing capacity to feed bottle markets, which need high-quality food-grade resin. "But without growth in washline PET reclamation capacity, we're going to need to rely on increased RPET imports in order to feed those pelletizing operations and supply the bottle market," she said. "In order to keep PET recycling strong in the US, there needs to be strong markets for the recyclers that are actually processing what's collected here."

NAPCOR Executive Director Laura Stewart put the stakes in policy terms: "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."

Where the demand records landed

• 69% of PET recycled in the US and Canada went into new bottles — a record share.
• Average recycled content in US bottles hit an all-time high of 22.9%, up from a revised 20.7%.
• The North American collection rate fell to 36.0%, down 3.2 points.

Laibach ties the bottle-market tilt to state recycled-content mandates. The reclaimer survey lacks state-level detail, but "I certainly think the timing bears out," she said — shortly after California passed its minimum PCR content law, NAPCOR's data began showing RPET sales shifting toward bottles. "The legislated content mandates really set a trend in motion," she said. Packaging EPR laws only began implementation in 2025, so their effects aren't visible yet, though emerging programs and eco-modulation bonuses are sustaining momentum.

Why collection fell

NAPCOR measures collection at the point of reclaimer purchase, so the loss of significant US reclamation capacity in 2025 directly reduced collected pounds. Shutdowns, some of them sudden, disrupted regional markets. "I think it's reasonable to expect there would have been some scrambling, at least for a time," Laibach said.

The industry adapted. In 2025, D6 and Republic Services started new plants in Texas and Indianapolis respectively, though PET washline reclamation capacity still saw a net loss for the year. "To have the decline in pounds collected be so much less percentage-wise than the loss of reclamation capacity demonstrates that the industry was able to adapt and reconfigure itself to meet the new reality," Laibach said.

Lightweighting by major beverage brands, begun in 2024, likely hit the collection side harder than pounds available, since lighter bottles carry higher sortation and yield losses. Eroding consumer trust in recycling may also have cut participation: "There's certainly evidence of mistrust in the US recycling system that likely affects participation," she said.

Thermoforms and trade

US and Canadian reclaimers processed 226 million pounds of thermoforms in 2025, continuing a climb. But total thermoform collection — including exports — fell 6.4%, from 264 million to 247 million pounds, driven by fewer exports, mainly to Mexico. Tariff confusion may have played a role: "There was a lot of confusion in 2025, so we certainly can't rule that out," Laibach said. PET bottle exports to Canada and Mexico were down too.

The next test is whether collection stabilizes as EPR programs mature — and whether federal incentives arrive before more washline capacity shuts.