PET Depolymerisation – Working Group

What is PET Depolymerization Recycling?

PET Depolymerisation Recycling is innovative.  It opens a completely new perspective on how to deal with the concerns about plastics and plastic waste. Bringing the PET bottles and food containers as well as polyester textiles back to its constituents, monomers or low molecular weight components that allow purification means in principle endless re-use of these PET building blocks. This will improve the circularity of PET since colors, additives and other polymers in multi-layer constructions will be from now on fully recyclable. PET Depolymerisation Recycling helps solving the waste problem by giving all PET waste value. After all efforts from consumers and by the industry to collect and sort the plastic, we can give a guarantee that PET is recycled and does not leave the circle to incineration or landfill.

"PET Depolymerisation Recycling has the potential to increase the quantity of available recycled PET and complement the existing mechanical recycling capacities", stresses Stephen Short, ex-chairman of the PETCORE EUROPE Working Group.

 

PETCORE EUROPE, the industry organization representing the whole PET value chain, launched the “Working Group - WG” to establish a strong and sustainable value chain in the development of re-using the monomers from PET waste.

 

Christian Crépet, former Executive Director of PETCORE Europe explains: "The mission of this new group is to facilitate a platform to position PET Depolymerisation recycling as a viable addition to the established mechanical recycling process, enhancing the circularity of PET."

The WG will use the networking and outreach of the PETCORE EUROPE Organization to interact with legislators, regulators, NGOs and other stakeholders to ensure Depolymerisation Recycling of PET is an acceptable business and fulfills the future requirements of business environment. The Group will work to ensure health and safety aspects as well as product acceptance is achieved.

The group has developed a Position Paper related to the Depolymerisation of PET for circularity summarizing the views of the participants on how depolymerisation recycling will support circularity.

For more information on the Working Group and to apply for Working Group membership please contact us via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please note that until December 2021, the PET Depolymerisation Working Group was previously know as ‘PET monomer recycling special industry group’ or ‘monomer SIG’. This change has been done for better transparency of the activities to the stakeholders and alignment with the PETCORE EUROPE other activities.