Titled ‘Transforming PET Packaging and Textiles in the United States’, the study’s launch follows landmark policy announcements, including the recent passage of the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 in California and the Executive Order on Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution. Furthermore, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging have been passed in five states (California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon) and are being considered in ten others.
PET packaging and polyester textiles – used in items like beverage bottles, food trays, apparel and carpets – are made from the same molecule (polyethylene terephthalate). U.S. consumers currently use over 100 billion PET bottles and over 10 billion polyester garments each year. These materials constitute 30% of the U.S. plastic packaging and textile consumption. If current trends continue, PET/polyester consumption will grow 1.5 times by 2040, resulting in 13 million metric tons of waste sent to landfill and incineration annually – equivalent to 750,000 garbage trucks. GHG emissions from domestic PET/polyester production would be 2.5 times higher by 2040 than levels needed to meet U.S. emissions reduction targets.
Circular economy approaches offer significant benefits
The study emphasizes the transformative potential of ambitious and complementary circular economy approaches – including reducing avoidable material use, scaling packaging reuse and textiles resale, and expanding recycling, through both mechanical and depolymerization technologies. Depolymerization recycling, an emerging technology that can work alongside established mechanical recycling approaches, offers the opportunity to recycle polyester textiles and harder-to-recycle PET packaging into virgin-quality recycled materials, reducing fossil fuel reliance and cutting emissions.
By 2040 – compared to a continuation of historical trends – applying these proven, complementary measures could result in substantial environmental benefits:
- Increase recycling rates for PET packaging to 70% (up from 23%), and for polyester textiles to 19% (up from 1%).
- Reduce virgin PET/polyester consumption and waste sent to landfill and incineration by half
- Cut projected GHG emissions for packaging by ~60%.
A transformation of the PET packaging and polyester textiles industries could create 46,000 additional direct U.S. jobs and generate $4.9 billion/year in additional revenue for U.S. recycling industries, relative to today.
