What You Should Know About Using Recycled PET (rPET)

Renata Daudt
Sep 22
4 min read

If you’ve picked up a water bottle recently, chances are it contained recycled PET (rPET). Around the world, beverage companies are moving toward higher recycled content to meet sustainability targets, consumer expectations, and upcoming regulations. But while rPET is a powerful tool for keeping materials in circulation and cutting carbon emissions, it isn’t without its complexities.

So, what actually happens when we push toward bottles made with 50%, 75%, or even 100% rPET? Let’s explore the benefits, challenges, and strategies for getting it right.

Why rpet Matters

PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is one of the most widely used plastics in beverage packaging. It’s lightweight, strong, and recyclable, at least in theory. In practice, much of it still ends up in landfill or downcycled into products like textiles or strapping.

Environmental Benefits

Cut carbon emissions: rPET has a 50-75% lower carbon footprint than virgin PET, saving approximately 1.5 tons of CO₂ per ton of recycled material⁵
Reduce energy consumption: Manufacturing rPET uses 79% less energy than producing virgin PET⁶
Conserve resources: Each ton of rPET saves 1.8 tons of oil equivalent⁷

Economic and Strategic Advantages

That’s where rPET comes in. By reprocessing PET into new bottles, we can:

Support circular economy goals: keeping materials in use for longer periods
Meet regulatory and market demands: with global moves toward mandatory recycled content, such as the UK Plastic Packaging Tax (requiring 30% recycled content by 2022)⁸
Build consumer trust: 73% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging⁹

In Australia, mandatory recycled content targets are on the horizon. Proposals from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) are set to accelerate rPET use, making it crucial for beverage companies to understand both its potential and its limits.

What Happens to PET During Recycling?

Each time PET is recycled, it undergoes stress. Mechanical and thermal processing shorten its molecular chains, leading to:

Loss of strength and clarity

Yellowing or haze

Brittleness and cracking

Contamination build-up if sorting and cleaning are inconsistent

This means that PET can’t be recycled forever. Research and industry experience show that bottle-grade PET can typically handle around 3–5 recycling loops (with solid-state polycondensation, or SSP) before its performance drops below safe standards for beverages.

Chemical recycling is an emerging process that produces rPET without the thermal degradation seen in mechanical recycling, resulting in a resin that performs almost like virgin PET. However, the technology is still very expensive and not widely available at scale. Companies such as Loop in Canada and Samsara Eco in Australia are pioneering this space, developing advanced depolymerisation technologies that could help overcome the limits of traditional recycling and extend the lifecycle of PET packaging in the future.

Strategies to Maintain Recycled PET Quality

The good news is that packaging engineers and suppliers have developed ways to stretch the life of rPET while keeping bottles safe and appealing.

Solid-State Polycondensation (SSP): a process that restores strength (intrinsic viscosity) and makes rPET food-contact safe. Many Australian facilities already use SSP for bottle-grade pellets.

Blending with virgin PET: mixing 25 - 40% virgin resin can stabilise performance and processing.

Design adjustments: strengthening stress points and avoiding colours or additives that limit future recyclability.

Additives and treatments: from optical brighteners that mask yellowing to stabilisers that reduce haze. (though these must be carefully chosen to avoid recyclability issues.)

Closed-loop supply chains: sourcing from consistent bottle-to-bottle systems often produces cleaner, clearer rPET.

The Visual Challenge

While a slightly yellow or cloudy bottle is perfectly safe, appearance matters. Consumers may see discolouration as “dirty” or low quality. Strategies like tinting with light blue or using brighteners can help maintain shelf appeal, but it’s equally important to communicate openly. Educating consumers that colour variation is a sign of circularity, not contamination, can build trust.

Sourcing and Certification

Global demand for food-grade rPET is high while supply remains limited, making it essential for brands to secure long-term contracts and verify quality by asking:

Is the rPET food-contact compliant (FDA, EFSA, FSANZ)?
Is there batch-level certification (e.g. ISCC PLUS, RecyClass, Global Recycled Standard)?
Is the recycled content truly post-consumer?
Does the supplier provide a Certificate of Analysis for each batch?

European frameworks such as EuCertPlast already set strict standards for traceability, and similar models are expected to spread worldwide, strengthening both assurance and accountability. The EU requires an average of 30% post-consumer recycled content in all plastic packaging by 2030, increasing to 40% by 2040. If you need guidance on the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, our team of experts can help you achieve compliance, just reach out to us.

Looking Ahead

Transitioning to higher rPET use is not just a compliance exercise, but also a chance to lead in circular economy innovation. Brands that start now will be better placed to manage costs, secure supply, and maintain consumer confidence.

Next steps for beverage companies include:

Reviewing current bottle specs and testing recycled content blends.
Working closely with suppliers to understand SSP use, additives, and certification.
Engaging marketing teams to manage consumer perception of colour and clarity.
Exploring closed-loop or take-back programs to stabilise supply.
Staying engaged with regulatory reforms to avoid surprises.

To wrap up, rPET is not a silver bullet, but it is a vital piece of the packaging sustainability puzzle. By combining technical innovation with clear communication and forward planning, beverage companies can unlock the benefits of rPET while navigating its challenges.

The shift to circular packaging is underway. The question is, are you ready to embrace it?

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