ALEXANDRIA, VA — Two new studies by a group representing the PET plastics industry say that the national recycling rate for PET bottled water containers (16.9-ounce serving) has improved by 16.4 percent, according to a February 19 press release from the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA).

PET water bottles now account for 50 percent of all the PET bottles and containers collected in curbside recycling, according to the author of the studies, the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), a trade group of the PET plastics industry. That group and  the IBWA also report that PET water bottles now contain less plastic, described as a “lightweighting” trend in the industry.

“Recycling rates continue to rise while bottle weight tumbles downward,” Joe Doss, IBWA president and CEO, said in the release.

The release said NAPCOR determined in one study that the recycling rate of PET water bottles increased from 20.1 percent in 2006 to 23.4 percent in 2007, or a 16.42 percent increase in the rate during that period.

Data from a NAPCOR bale composition study conducted in 15 locations in 14 states found that the number of PET bottles per pound increased from 12 bottles in 2006 to 13.78 bottles per pound in 2008, the release said. IBWA also cited Beverage Marketing Corp. data showing a drop in the average weight of a plastic water bottle (used for 16.9-ounce servings) every year from 2000 through 2007, the last year complete data were available. That weight went from an average 18.9 grams (0.67 ounces) per bottle in 2000 to 13.83 grams (0.49 ounces) in 2007.

“Water bottles are now the most recycled container in curbside programs by weight, and overwhelmingly by number,” the NAPCOR analysis said, according to IBWA.

Doss said the data are encouraging and that the bottled water industry is headed in the right direction regarding recycling and plastics use; he also said more needs to be done.

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