Recycling of PET thermoforms is increasing after decades of lagging other materials, but more work is needed to make collection mainstream, according to a white paper released Tuesday by the National Association for PET Container Resources.
PET thermoform recycling underwent “substantial innovation and growth” from 2011 to 2023, the report says. During that timeframe, recycling of the material increased more than threefold, reaching 130 million pounds in 2023; an additional 38 million pounds was exported.
Thermoforms are an ubiquitous form of packaging, including clamshells used in food service applications. But recycling acceptance has been stunted due to issues including lookalike packaging polymers, such as polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride, posing contamination risks for reclaimers, the report notes.
PET thermoforms also vary greatly in size and shape, which traditionally has caused sorting difficulties for recyclers, said Zach Muscato, corporate sustainability manager at thermoform producer and NAPCOR member Plastic Ingenuity.
Especially at MRFs, “they're running lots of materials through their lines at high speeds, and it's easier to detect a more common packaging type, like a bottle, than it is for a thermoform,” Muscato said. Newer technologies are changing that. “One reason why we're seeing advancements in thermoform recycling: The MRF technology has expanded lately into using optical sorters and AI,” he added.
Muscato pointed to a MRF that Rumpke Waste & Recycling opened in Columbus, Ohio, last August, which contains modern equipment that enables thermoform collection. Rumpke therefore began accepting thermoforms in select markets in November.
The industry also has progressed with using inks, adhesives and labels that are more compatible with recycling systems, such as adhesives that disintegrate during wash cycles, according to the report. Thermoform labels traditionally “have been a little harder to remove” than those on bottles, Muscato said.
Despite the advances, public access to thermoform recycling still remains below the threshold for mainstream status: Nationally, about 54% of U.S. residents have access to recycling for thermoforms, according to Muscato. Access varies widely by location. For example, California comes in around 88%, but neighboring Oregon charts zero, Muscato said.
Thermoforms increasingly are collected and processed into postconsumer recycled content that can be incorporated into new products such as PET bottles, the white paper says. And thermoforms themselves now contain less virgin resin and more PCR, with NAPCOR citing a notable uptick in thermoform converters' recycled feedstock use from 2021 to 2023. In 2023, virgin PET comprised 74% of converters’ sheet and resin purchases, which is down nine percentage points from the previous year.
Robust end markets are important to drive demand for thermoforms and recycled content, Muscato said. But additional collaboration is needed across the entire value chain to increase recycling access and grow the modest thermoform collection numbers, according to the report. A big part of that is through consumer education and building trust through transparency, which could increase as extended producer responsibility programs boost funding, Muscato said.
“The fact is, we’re not collecting enough PET PCR to service all of our demand, and thermoforms are still a relatively untapped source to meet that demand,” Muscato said. "So we’ve got to figure this out.”
