Due to the favorable properties, plastic bottles have now become the norm in the packaging of a wide variety of substances. However, most plastics are not biodegradable, which leads to the generation of significant volumes of plastic waste, which can be neither buried nor incinerated without causing severe environmental problems. As a result of this situation, the global plastic bottle recycling market is likely to post a steady growth rate in the coming years. Bottle Recycling could be resolved by their rising use in clothing amid recycling cost constraints, as per Transparency Market Research. Plastic bottle recycling has emerged as a key topic in recent years due to the steady acknowledgment of the adverse effect of the increasing volume of plastic waste generated by humans.
The global plastic bottle recycling market is divided into polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Of these, PET bottles are the leading segment of the plastic bottle recycling market, as it has become the material of choice in the food and beverages industry, which is making the most of the rise in the demand for packaged food and beverages. HDPE bottles are also likely to hold a key share in the global plastic bottle recycling market in the coming years.
Geographically, North America is likely to dominate the global plastic bottle recycling market in the coming years thanks to the steady prospects for the market in the U.S. The U.S. has a comprehensive recycling system for plastic bottles due to the rising awareness among the citizens about the ill-effects of plastic waste, and the presence of several leading consumers of plastic bottles, such as Coca Cola. Government support to the adoption of plastic bottle recycling has also been forthcoming in the U.S. The Carolinas Plastics Recycling Council, for instance, started a new campaign in April 2017, to make people want to recycle plastic bottles rather than throwing them away. Apart from the environmental benefits of recycling plastic bottles, there are significant economic benefits of plastic bottle recycling, which are being stressed upon in the campaign. The campaign is intended to illustrate the nature of plastic bottle recycling and its benefits to the community. A popular apparel brand, Target, recently started selling clothes made from recycled plastic bottles. In partnership with Repreve, Target hopes to commercialize a chain of clothes produced without harming the environment. The use of recycled plastic bottles in clothing is likely to receive increased demand in the coming years.
Plastic bottle recycling is a complicated and expensive process, which could restrain this recycling market’s growth in some regions. The key difficulty in plastic bottle recycling is that different plastic polymers cannot be mixed and have to be separated before being used again. Despite steady research into developing compatable plastic polymers, this is likely to remain an influential restraint on the global plastic bottle recycling market in the coming years.
A Research and Markets study forecasts 3.7% compound annual growth (CAGR) in the plastic bottle recycling market in the United States between 2014 and 2019. An analyst from the team says, “The demand for plastic and related products in the U.S. is growing at a significant rate, driven by the benefits of plastic materials over metals. Plastic is used in various industries such as automotive, health care, defense, oil and gas, and energy. This is one of the major reasons that has intensified the national focus on plastic recycling. In addition, recycling of plastic materials is critically important from an environmental point of view, as it helps address threats such as global warming, ozone layer depletion and environmental pollution.”
According to the report, the growing demand for bottles from various end-use segments, such as automotive, health care, oil and gas, construction, food and beverage and household products has stimulated the production of plastic bottles. The scarcity of reserves and rising raw material and commodity prices are creating new prospects in the market. In addition, the recycling industry has grown considerably in the last 10 years, driven by growing environmental concerns. Recycling of plastic bottles mainly refers to the reuse of the plastic materials and hence to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills by ultimately converting them into lower or same grade plastic bottles. These bottles are used for applications depending on their properties. Most plastics are semi-porous and absorb molecules of food or beverage contained. The residue removal is a very tedious task, and any additional heating may damage plastic. In order to convert plastic bottles into food grade plastic, bottles are hydrolyzed to monomeric form and finally passes through purification and re-polymerization process before converting to a new form. The plastic bottle recycle market is picking up pace and is expected to grow at a steady rate in the near future, boosted by the increasing demand for recycled plastic bottles and growing environmental concerns.
Technavio's analysts forecast the global recycle market for plastic bottle industry to grow at a CAGR of 3.9% over the period 2014-2019.