At a Glance
- rPET in food packaging is in high demand, but supply can’t keep up — creating cost premiums, regulatory considerations, and sourcing challenges for food businesses.
- U.S. collection rates remain low for recyclable plastics, driving shortages and limiting how much recycled content brands can realistically use.
- Although rPET costs more than virgin PET, it can meet FDA food-grade safety standards when properly processed and verified with a Letter of No Objection.
- Food businesses should approach rPET strategically: Set realistic recycled-content targets, understand supply-chain origins, budget for premiums, monitor policy shifts, and consider long-term contracts to secure material.
You’ve seen it in stores: Bottles boasting “100% recycled plastic.” Brands are making ambitious sustainability claims that would be great — if they were true. Meanwhile, you’re just trying to source containers that won’t bankrupt your business or violate FDA regulations.
Welcome to the wonderful world of rPET, where some marketing promises and the actual supply chain realities live in different zip codes.
Recycled PET, also known as rPET, is becoming a critical factor in packaging decisions, regulatory compliance, and your budget.
To better understand this rPET puzzle, we turned to Conor Carlin, Founder and President of Clefs Advisory, LLC, and the 2024 President of the Society of Plastics Engineers. As a former North American GM at ILLIG and a widely respected voice in sustainable packaging, Conor brings extensive knowledge of sustainable materials, advanced technologies, recycling, environmental policy, and commercial strategy — expertise shaped by years of working where packaging innovation meets sustainability.
This article explains what rPET really is, why supply can’t keep up with demand, and how to navigate this landscape without getting burned out (we know you can do it).
What Is rPET and Why Should Food Businesses Care?
rPET stands for “recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate” (do you see why we use the abbreviation?) — plastic that’s been collected, processed, and transformed back into usable material. Those water bottles in your recycling bin? When properly collected, they become new bottles, food trays, or containers.
rPET is one of the most mature and reliable recycling streams available today. It’s been used for decades and can be incorporated back into new PET packaging with minimal impact on performance.
rPET is the poster child of plastic recycling. The U.S. recycles roughly 30-31% of PET, while Europe hits 45-60%. Some types of HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene — think milk jugs) come close, though end-market applications are more likely to be industrial than consumer, such as drainage pipes. But here’s the twist: Everyone wants rPET, and there’s not nearly enough to go around.
Is rPET More Expensive Than Virgin Plastic?
Short answer? Yes. rPET typically costs more than virgin plastic.
That price difference isn’t just driven by demand. rPET requires additional steps — collection, sorting, cleaning, and reprocessing — before it can be turned back into food-grade material. Each of those steps adds cost, especially when compared to producing virgin plastic directly from raw materials.
While oil prices may fluctuate, recycled content often continues to command a premium. Translation? rPET being budget-friendly is about as likely as finding a unicorn in your warehouse.
This matters because food businesses operate on razor-thin margins. As more brands make ambitious sustainability claims — such as bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, it’s important to look closely at what those claims really mean. In some cases, higher costs are absorbed as part of a sustainability strategy; in others, the definition of “recycled content” may vary depending on accounting methods, sourcing, or system boundaries. For buyers, the takeaway is simple: Sustainability claims deserve a closer look.
Why Is There an rPET Shortage?
Here’s where things get dicey. We don’t have enough rPET to go around.
“There is not enough material collected. Recycling facilities are running below capacity. That means they can bring in more material without having to add capital equipment, but there’s not enough material for them,” Carlin explains.
The bottleneck? Collection. About 40% of Americans lack access to proper recycling. And even those who have it aren’t always using it correctly.
For food businesses, this creates an awkward question: If you commit to high percentages of recycled content, where exactly are you planning to source it? A really enthusiastic hope and luck from a rabbit’s foot?
Can rPET Actually Meet Food Safety Standards?
It’s not all bad news. rPET can absolutely meet food-grade standards. Better news: It requires rigorous FDA approval.
Every batch of rPET intended for food contact requires a “Letter of No Objection” from the FDA, supported by extensive testing for cleanliness and safety.
“Chemically, you can’t make a distinction between recycled and virgin as they are both PET,” notes Carlin. “The chemical fingerprint looks identical, though analytical methods do exist to detect changes in the material properties such as intrinsic viscosity (IV).” IV is a measure of the molecular weight of the polymer which corresponds to the polymer chain length. Why does this matter? Because the ultimate strength or clarity of your PET or rPET package is dependent on the quality of the foundational resin, whether in flake or pellet format.
What’s Actually Stopping rPET From Scaling?
If rPET is so great, why isn’t there more of it?
The Collection Gap: 40% of Americans lack access to recycling. It’s that simple.
Short-Term Thinking: Brands keep shifting strategies based on market prices, leaving recyclers without guaranteed buyers. It’s hard to justify a multi-million dollar facility when your biggest customer might ghost you next quarter.
Import Drama: The U.S. has a “massive deficit” in PET production. We import significant amounts of rPET from countries with lower labor costs. Recent tariffs added another layer of complexity.
Physics: Every recycling cycle introduces heat, which degrades the polymer chain. Additives called “chain extenders” can help, but they add cost.
How Should Food Businesses Actually Navigate This?
So what’s a practical food business professional who cares about sustainability supposed to do?
Set Realistic Targets: Before pledging 100% recycled content, check the actual supply.
Interrogate Your Supply Chain: Ask suppliers where their rPET comes from. Domestic? Imported? Food-grade? What certifications exist?
Budget for Premium Costs: Build the rPET price premium into your financials now. Future-you will thank present-you.
Watch Policy Shifts: Minimum recycled-content mandates are coming. They’ll eventually improve collection, but they’ll also affect pricing and availability.
Consider Long-Term Contracts: If you’re serious about rPET, lock in supply agreements when available. This gives recyclers stability while protecting you from spot-market volatility.
Getting Smart About rPET
rPET is the most mature recycled plastic material currently supported by existing recycling infrastructure. It works. It’s safe for food contact. And it’s improving.
But the gap between sustainability marketing and supply chain reality could fit a semi-truck. The U.S. currently recycles about 30% of PET and needs to roughly double that to meet realistic targets.
For food business professionals, the smart move isn’t to ignore rPET — it’s to approach it with eyes wide open. Understand the constraints and plan for premium costs. Ask tough questions. Set sustainability goals that reflect real material availability, and communicate them transparently. Using third-party certifications can help validate recycled content claims, build trust, and avoid sustainability promises that can’t be substantiated.
What brands are making the biggest rPET claims today? Many are making promises that the current infrastructure simply can’t support. Don’t let your business get caught in the same trap.
Instead, be the food business that makes informed decisions, communicates honestly about recycled content, and builds relationships with suppliers who can actually deliver. That’s sustainability that works in the real world where you operate every day.
Because at the end of the day, the best sustainability strategy is one you can actually start to implement.
Are you interested in learning more about packaging and sustainability? Visit Inline Plastics’ Learning Center to explore a wide range of topics — and see how our Reborn sustainability initiative supports a PET portfolio made with post-consumer recycled content. While our PET products contained 10% PCR when this article was written, efforts are underway to increase that percentage as supply becomes more available. Learn more about our sustainability commitments!
Would you like to know more about Conor Carlin and his work at Clefs Advisory LLC? Connect with him on LinkedIn today.
