PET, HDPE and polypropylene (PP) plastic bottles are lightweight yet strong, unbreakable, safe, resealable and recyclable. PET, HDPE and PP bottles are recycled in curbside and drop-off systems in the United States. Recycling these bottles saves energy and raw materials; for example, according to the U.S. EPA, recycling five lbs. of PET saves 125,000 BTUs - equal to about one gallon of gasoline.

Light weight plastic bottles also lower resin and energy use, decrease emissions and improve transportation efficiencies.

• Ball’s half-liter PET water bottles are 35% lighter on average than in 1995.
• Our PP bottles are 25% lighter on average than in 1992.
• Ball is in the midst of a large, customer-driven PET bottle lightweghting program. Once complete, it will reduce the amount of resin used to produce these bottles by 10 to 12 million lbs. annually.

U.S. Recycling Rates

• PET - 27%  In 2008, more than 1.45 billion pounds were recycled, the highest recorded volume to date and a 9.8% increase over 2007.
• HDPE - 29% in 2008
• PP - 11.4% in 2008
• PP bottle recycling rates continue to rise as more PP bottles are included with HDPE bottles for recycling. If the amount of PP bottles included with HDPE materials is below 5%, there is no adverse effect on the recycled HDPE according to the APR.

For a complete copy of the PET recycling rate report, see NAPCOR’s website. View the 2008 Post Consumer Plastic Bottle Recycling Report for information on HDPE and PP recycling.

Post Consumer Recycled Content (PCR)

In 2009 Ball increased the average amount of PCR in our PET bottles to 6.5%. Recycled content can be much higher depending on customer requirements and on PCR quality, supply and price. For example, Ball developed and currently supplies hot-fill PET bottles containing 40% PCR for a functional beverage customer, and is currently developing a family of PET bottles with even higher amounts of PCR for another customer.

Plastic Barriers and Recyclability

Barriers are used in plastic packaging for beverages like beer, wine and juices to extend the freshness of the product by preventing oxygen ingress and/or carbon dioxide egress. When choosing a barrier technology, it is important to consider the barrier material’s impact on recyclability since these are different materials than PET and can contaminate PCR.

• Ball is the only bottle manufacturer in North America using KHS Plasmax, an ultra thin (less than 100 nm) silicon oxide (SiOx) barrier which is easily removed during PET recycling. A bottle-to-bottle recycling study conducted according to European PETCORE protocols showed that Plasmax is removable during the recycling process and does not negatively affect any test requirements.
• Ball received Canadian Packaging magazine’s 2008 Best-of-Show Eco-Choice Award for its PET Plasmax-coated wine bottles. Ball also received the bronze award in the international package category from the Packaging Association of Canada’s Sustainable Packaging Leadership Awards. Judges said Ball’s PET wine bottles had the potential to launch a new trend in wine packaging that would greatly decrease greenhouse gases related to transportation of wine since PET bottles weigh so much less than traditional glass bottles.
• Ball’s Amazon HM^® multi-layer bottle material was awarded the "Partners for Change" award from the APR in June 2003. This award recognizes companies that partner with reclaimers to determine a package’s compatibility with current recycling processes. Numerous tests showed the Amazon bottle can be recycled into products made of recycled PET. More information about PET recycling can be found on APR’s website. 

Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through the Supply Chain

• For PET, greenhouse gas emissions generated from production of the raw material to filling bottles is about 40% less than the greenhouse gas emissions generated by producing the same number of glass bottles.
• PP production emits fewer greenhouse gases by weight than production of other plastics.