National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR)

08/26/2026

Back-to-school hot take: 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐥. 🎒♻️

The rise of “underconsumption core” is a welcome reminder that helping the planet doesn’t always mean buying the newest, trendiest alternative. It also means keeping the materials we already use in circulation.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐄𝐓 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧.

Lightweight PET bottles and containers (look for the #1 in the triangle ♳) are safe, resealable, fully recyclable, and made to be remade. Studies show PET can be recycled repeatedly into new bottles and containers.

So, when a PET bottle ends up in a lunchbox, backpack, or gym bag:

✅ Look for the #1
✅ Empty the container
✅ Place it in the recycling bin

When you recycle PET, you help it become something new, again and again.

Learn more: https://positivelypet.org/pet-101/

08/25/2026

Recycling is often viewed as a waste management activity.

In reality, it conserves resources, saves energy, reduces pollution, supports livelihoods and contributes to climate goals 💯

As the world prepares for COP31, we believe these contributions deserve greater recognition within the global climate conversation ♻️

Should recycling be among the COP31 priorities?



(Recycling, global movement, COP31 2026, climate action, waste management, economic growth, sustainability)

08/19/2026

❌ Myth: “Plastic bottles are bad for the environment.” That claim overlooks the full life cycle of packaging and the environmental impacts of materials that would replace PET plastic, identified by the #1 in the triangle. ♳

✅ FACT: Peer-reviewed life cycle research shows that 𝐏𝐄𝐓 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 across key measures, including energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and solid waste.

PET is also lightweight, fully recyclable, and can be manufactured with up to 100% recycled content. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞. ♻️

Every packaging material has an environmental footprint. Meaningful comparisons require looking beyond the material itself to consider manufacturing, transportation, product protection, collection, and recycling.

🔎 Explore the facts about PET’s environmental performance: https://positivelypet.org/myths-and-facts/

08/12/2026

When it comes to sustainability, 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 🔎

This new PlasticsToday article examines research showing that replacing plastic with paper, glass, or metal can increase material use, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption, and costs.

This is no surprise to us. Our peer-reviewed Life Cycle Analysis showed that, when compared to glass and aluminum, PET plastic ♳ delivers significant environmental savings across several key environmental categories. (napcor.com/lca-report)

And that's the crux. As Chris DeArmitt explains in the article, 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥, not simply whether it is made from fossil fuels.

It is refreshing to see Chris challenge some deeply entrenched misconceptions, and his evidence-first perspective is well worth exploring.

The article also raises an important policy question: Could efforts to reduce plastic 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 when the full life cycle of alternative materials is considered?

🔗Better environmental decisions begin with asking the right questions and following the science—wherever it leads: https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/plastic-alternatives-often-worse-for-environment-research-shows

08/10/2026

Recyclable materials only deliver their full environmental and economic value when we collect and recycle them.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET ♳) is the most recycled plastic in the world and is designed to be recycled and remade. 𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐄𝐓 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦.

Our latest blog post explores how stronger collection systems and smart public policies—including extended producer responsibility programs (EPR), deposit return systems (DRS), and investments in recycling infrastructure—can:

♻️ Keep valuable PET in circulation
🏭 Strengthen US manufacturing
💼 Support jobs throughout the recycling value chain
📈 Build a more resilient circular economy

The solutions already exist. 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.

Read the full article: https://positivelypet.org/blog/collection-and-recycling-are-keys-to-ending-plastic-waste/

08/06/2026

Ice River Sustainable Solutions doesn’t just champion progress over replacement, they demonstrate what PET circularity can achieve, every single day.

By making bottles from 100% recycled PET plastic, Ice River keeps PET in circulation and provides a powerful real-world example of bottle-to-bottle recycling. That’s the very definition of circularity! 👏👏👏

Always ♳

NAPCOR explains, replacement isn’t progress, especially when it comes to PET. Positively PET

In their latest blog, they show how PET, marked by the #1 in the triangle, is a benchmark for circular packaging.

After over five decades of study, PET is one of the most rigorously evaluated materials for food and beverage packaging. It’s not about replacing PET, it’s about strengthening the system that already works.

We’re grateful to NAPCOR for their leadership—check out their blog, “Progress Over Replacement,” and dive into the facts! napcor.com/blog/progress-over-replacement/

08/05/2026

That food that's made its way safely from the farm to your fridge? That's likely because of a PET thermoform container.

PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the clear, lightweight plastic identified by the number 1 inside the triangle, used in packages like trays, clamshells, and tubs.

For the sake of our economy and environment, we need to keep as many of those containers in circulation as possible.

And happily, we saw record recovery in 2024. That's encouraging, but 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.

In 2024, an estimated 264 million pounds of PET thermoforms were recovered for recycling in the US and Canada, the highest volume NAPCOR has recorded.

Yet post-consumer recycled PET accounted for just 11.5% of the feedstock purchased by thermoform converters.

New coverage from Waste360's and Packaging World explores that disconnect, and the 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐄𝐓 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬.

Read NAPCOR’s new blog post: https://napcor.com/blog/pet-thermoform-record-recovery-circularity-challenges/

08/03/2026

🥜 Do you really have to scrub every trace of peanut butter from a PET plastic (look for the #1 inside the triangle) jar before recycling it?

No. A quick scrape is generally enough. But that simple question opens the door to a much bigger conversation about how recycling works and what it will take to improve the US system.

A recent Washington Post article by Michael J. Coren follows a PET container through the recycling process, offering a fascinating look at the optical sorting equipment, artificial intelligence, and human expertise that help recover valuable materials.

Technology is essential, but it cannot do the job alone. Strong collection systems, infrastructure investment, smart policy, consumer participation, and reliable demand for recycled PET must all work together.

Our latest blog post explores the article and the conditions needed to build a stronger, more circular recycling system:

🔗 https://positivelypet.org/blog/creating-the-conditions-for-circularity/

07/29/2026

🌎We’re in the last week of , so let’s recap what we’ve shared so far:

1️⃣ Not all plastics are the same; PET plastic, identified by the #1 inside the triangle, is unique
2️⃣ Studies show PET is the more choice than alternatives
3️⃣ PET is sometimes single-𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦, but it is never single-𝘶𝘴𝘦; it’s fully recyclable and made to be remade
4️⃣ Ending plastic waste requires solutions grounded in science, infrastructure, and real-world outcomes, not simply replacing one material with another or banning highly recyclable materials like PET, which has unintended negative consequences for our planet

📌If you remember nothing else this , remember this: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #1 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭. PET helps keep food and beverages fresh, safe, and available while reducing waste.

♻️A new PET bottle can be made with up to 100% recycled content. The PET bottle you place in the recycling bin today can be back on store shelves in as little as six weeks. That’s how we . That’s how we grow our . That’s how we protect our planet. Thank you for your advocacy and action!

Let’s keep the fact-sharing going: https://positivelypet.org/

07/24/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Chicago for NAPCOR's July Member Meeting!

Over two days, PET industry leaders from across the value chain came together to share market insights, discuss the policy and business issues shaping our industry, learn from expert speakers, and strengthen the relationships that help move our industry forward.

A special thank you to our outstanding speakers—including Matt Herrick, Chris DeArmitt, Tom Busard, Gleb Trofimov, Michael Westerfield, Kevin Harrison, Kevin Morris, Marianne Duong, and Jack Pacente (pls comment if I missed anyone!)—and to all of our members for the thoughtful discussions, active participation, and collaboration throughout the meeting.

We're grateful for such an engaged membership and look forward to continuing the momentum in the months ahead.