On October 31, 2023, civil society organizations ClientEarth, ECOS, and Zero Waste Europe working with consulting firm Eunomia, co-published a report investigating green claims on PET beverage bottles in Europe. The report discusses the feasibility of a completely circular system for PET drinking bottles, where all bottles consist of 100% recycled content. Additionally, the authors identify potentially misleading claims to consumers on PET bottles concerning recyclability and recycled content (FPF reported, here and here).
The analysis considers the three primary components of a standard PET bottle: the bottle body, the cap, and the label. While bottle bodies are currently being recycled in many municipalities, a 100% recycling rate without the need for virgin materials is unattainable, say the authors. PET bottle circularity would require a 100% collection rate, no losses across the whole recycling stream, and all the recycled material to flow back into the production of PET bottles, instead of applications like other forms of packaging or textiles. Furthermore, there are technical and physical constraints of the mechanical recycling process and the PET material: currently, the physical qualities of PET cannot be maintained through infinite recycling cycles (FPF reported).
The bottle caps, usually made from polypropylene (PP) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE), are being recycled, but are not turned back into bottle caps. Currently, there are no mechanical recycling processes for any plastics besides PET that are authorized for use in food contact in the EU.
Labels are particularly challenging to truly recycle since the colored materials, adhesives, and high moisture content limit their recyclability (FPF reported). On top of that, the infrastructure to recycle this type of material is currently lacking in Europe – resulting in likely virtually no recycling of labels back into new labels, according to the report.
The document discusses two claims that are commonly found on PET drinking bottles: bottles being ‘100% recyclable’ and bottles having ‘100% recycled content’. The report argues that the former claim can be misinterpreted as implying all components of the beverage bottle are recyclable, which varies in practice. The latter claim might suggest the entire product is made from recycled content. However, not all bottle components are made from recycled content, and even the bottle body may not be entirely post-consumer recycled.
Lastly, the report cautions that life cycle assessment (LCA) tools that are commonly employed to evaluate the environmental impacts of PET bottles may not fully account for system losses or PET polymer degradation over time. The authors advocate for clearer and standardized communication practices related to recycled PET bottles and sustainability claims (FPF reported). Recommendations given in the report include avoiding the use of the term ‘recyclable’, providing clear recycling instructions, using transparent methods for communicating recycled content, and refraining from marketing language or imagery implying circularity, sustainability, or climate neutrality (FPF reported).
Reference
Eunomia (October 31, 2023). “100% Greenwash? Green Claims on PET Beverage Bottles in Europe.”
