The global consumption of food-grade recycled packaging is predicated to surge by 60 per cent over the next four years, according to the latest report from packaging market analyst Smithers.
The research group says that in five years to 2024 the amount of food-grade PCR used globally reached one million tonnes globally, and it says by 2029 that figure will have risen to 1.6 million tonnes.
Smithers' research shows it was surging demand from food and drink brands that caused the market to grow at an annual rate of nine per cent since 2019.
The new market report – The Future of PCR for Food-grade Applications to 2029 – shows that a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2 per cent is forecast for 2024-2029, pushing consumption to 1.6 million tonnes in 2029.
This growth in demand supported investment in mechanical and chemical (advanced) recycling lines, smarter sorting equipment, and deposit recovery schemes, as industry works to build a genuinely circular economy for plastics.
Demand for recycled resins was found to be dominated by one polymer – polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – with global consumption of food-grade recycled PET at 786,100 tonnes in 2024, the equivalent of 76.3 per cent of the total market.
According to Smithers, this was due to its processability and the decontamination efficiency of conventional mechanical recycling lines, as well as a ready supply of input materials. It was found to see the fastest rate of expansion over the next five years.
Beverage packaging was found to be the most significant end-use sector for food-grade PCR packaging (six per cent of global consumption in 2024), with PET bottles, the leading application.
Annual consumption of PCR in drinks packaging averaged 10 per cent across 2019-24, with a slightly lower rate forecast to 2029. Food formats – trays and other rigid containers – accounted for a further 34 per cent of supply in 2024.
Supply of PCR resins for other common food contact plastics, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), was found to be slower, due to problems with sorting and decontamination using mechanical recycling technology.
Growth opportunities were found to exist in Asia-Pacific, especially those countries where governments have adopted regulatory requirements – such as Australia [voluntary at this stage, with regulatory reform pending], Japan, and South Korea.
Europe accounted for 65.4 per cent of contemporary sales by volume and will remain the leading market for food-grade PCR resins.
New targets set by the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) 2025-40, will boost demand, with the region seen to increase its share of the market over the next five years, reaching one million tonnes of PCR in 2029.
