Recycled PET's future bright. . .

Polyethylene terephthalate—PET—is the easiest plastic to recycle. And R-PET is cheaper than PET. However, R-PET's price IS tied to PET—whose price right now is very low. What this means short-term is that R-PET may become more expensive than PET, or at least so close in price that manufacturers will favor the virgin PET. Right now the margins on PET AND R-PET are shrinking. Long-term, however, the future is quite bright, according to a spokesperson for Germany's trade group PET Cycle. R-PET is competitive in quality to PET, and consumers widely accept its use, especially because of its pro-green quality. Even further down the road, China looms as a possible competitor in Europe. Many European manufacturers of R-PET are calling for legislation that would require 10-15% recycled content in R-PET, seen as a way to protect against Asian Pacific competition long-term.