PET Plastic
PET or Poly Ethylene Teraphthalate is a light weight, durable plastic with
excellent clarity and recyclability benefits.
PET is the only material other than glass that has sufficient barrier properties to successfully contain ambient juice and carbonated beverages.
PET packaging material has rapidly become the preferred material for the
containment of many liquids, both still and aerated. Competitors include
packaging made from glass, HDPE, and PVC.
PET resin and the production processes for converting the resin into finished containers have significantly improved over the last 25 years. It is envisaged that PET containers will continue to take an increasingly larger share of the container market for liquids in the coming years.
The PET Industry has experienced phenomenal growth in the last 10 years, to a degree that has seen the output of PET bottle manufacture double in this period. Consequently, the industry at large now boasts combined production figures in excess of 120 billion units worldwide. Such growth can only occur if there is robust infrastructure to support well orchestrated efforts that have supply meeting demand. Strange as it may seem though, this industry is still somewhat adolescent to a certain degree. It is forever developing and with the prospect of emerging markets looming on the horizon, full potential is yet to be realised.
In an age of environmental concern, PET is a preferred material for packaging worldwide because of its recyclability. The ability to recycle is much improved where the PET container in question is made entirely from PET as there are then no contaminants in the PET entering the recycling process as with a separately attached handle container.
As can be seen in the table below, 37.2% of PET plastic was recycled in Australia in 2006. This makes PET the most recycled plastic in Australia by percentage volume.
Total recycling (tonnes) and recycling rates of polymers in 2006:
Source PACIA 2007 National Plastics Recycling Survey
PET is the only material other than glass that has sufficient barrier properties to successfully contain ambient juice and carbonated beverages.
PET packaging material has rapidly become the preferred material for the
containment of many liquids, both still and aerated. Competitors include
packaging made from glass, HDPE, and PVC.
- Glass is prone to breakage
- HDPE is cloudy in appearance and porous
- PVC is environmentally unfriendly and also has difficulty producing the clarity which can be obtained from PET
- PET is comparatively stronger, lighter, clearer, more recyclability and less expensive
PET resin and the production processes for converting the resin into finished containers have significantly improved over the last 25 years. It is envisaged that PET containers will continue to take an increasingly larger share of the container market for liquids in the coming years.
The PET Industry has experienced phenomenal growth in the last 10 years, to a degree that has seen the output of PET bottle manufacture double in this period. Consequently, the industry at large now boasts combined production figures in excess of 120 billion units worldwide. Such growth can only occur if there is robust infrastructure to support well orchestrated efforts that have supply meeting demand. Strange as it may seem though, this industry is still somewhat adolescent to a certain degree. It is forever developing and with the prospect of emerging markets looming on the horizon, full potential is yet to be realised.
In an age of environmental concern, PET is a preferred material for packaging worldwide because of its recyclability. The ability to recycle is much improved where the PET container in question is made entirely from PET as there are then no contaminants in the PET entering the recycling process as with a separately attached handle container.
As can be seen in the table below, 37.2% of PET plastic was recycled in Australia in 2006. This makes PET the most recycled plastic in Australia by percentage volume.
Total Plastics Recycling By Polymer
The total quantities of recycled plastics by polymer, from all sectors, and including packaging and non-packaging (durable) materialsTotal recycling (tonnes) and recycling rates of polymers in 2006:
Source PACIA 2007 National Plastics Recycling Survey