A new campaign in the US is raising awareness of recycling plastic and polyethene terephthalate (PET) packaging.
Participants in the campaign aired on public television are Amcor Rigid Packaging, the Michigan State University School of Packaging, the Plastics Industry Association, the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) and the Plastic Recycling Corporation of California (PRCC).
PET material is gaining traction in the global packaging industry, as GlobalData forecasts it will grow at an AAGR of more than 5% by 2027. The US is one of the key countries in the world that accounts for more than 54% of total PET capacity.
The five-minute campaign video presentation, showcasing facts about PET containers and the importance of recycling, is now in rotation for the next year on nationwide television stations.
The video, also available to watch on Amcor Packaging’s YouTube channel, repeatedly states that PET is “arguably one of mankind’s greatest inventions.”
It also provides advice to consumers on increasing recycling rates in the US, which is for everyone in households to recycle together and to recycle PET bottles with their caps, which are too small to be recycled on their own.
NAPCOR executive director Laura Stewart commented: “The truth, as verified by two recent lifecycle assessments, including one by McKinsey & Company, shows the impact of PET as the environmentally responsible packaging solution that can significantly contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming compared to other primary beverage packaging materials.”
Earlier this year, NAPCOR partnered with a life cycle assessment and solid waste management consulting firm for a study, which concluded PET plastic is the single best packaging solution to truly reduce global warming in the US.
Amcor Rigid Packaging president Eric Roegner added: “The opportunity to tell the circularity story of the PET bottle – from design to manufacturing, into the hands of the consumer and then recycling it again and again and again – is something we believe is critical for our industry and critical for the health of our planet.”
