R-PET Prices Decreased in China due to Muted Demand from Processors and Convertors

As the Chinese government has seen significant progress and achieved substantial success in promoting the concepts of the 'zero-waste city' and circular economy to explore a new path of "waste treatment," plastic recycling assists a new windfall in China. In the past few years, the Chinese authorities and local associations have made combined efforts to accelerate the circular economy for plastics by introducing a number of policies, proposals, regulations, and guidelines for plastics recycling and reclamation. These efforts, coupled with the ban of plastic waste import, have strengthened the domestic plastic recycling market in China, which has further propelled the demand for Recycled plastic. As a consequence, the volume of imported recycled plastic has soared in the country in order to fill the feedstock shortage. In addition, growing consumer awareness across China regarding sustainability issues has resulted in increased pressure on manufacturers. Stakeholders, including petrochemical manufacturers, material manufacturers, recyclers, retailers, and others, have been actively committed to plastics recycling.

The Asia Pacific region has the highest number of R-PET suppliers with a capacity market share of about 48 percent, which is higher than Europe and the U.S. The increased demand for food-grade recycled plastic products has resulted in various global R-PET suppliers investing in the recycling sector.

As per ChemAnalyst, the prices of Recycled- Polyethylene Tetraphyte (r-PET) are continuously decreasing in the domestic market due to muted demand from plastic processors/converters. As the processors/converters sever for various end markets and industry segments, including flexible films, rigid packaging, industrial plastics, as well as pharmaceutical and medical device companies, their demand has witnessed a slowdown in the past weeks amid the spring festive holidays and ongoing Beijing winter Olympics. According to an industry expert, "China's role in the global plastic cataclysm cannot be understated. It consumes one-fifth of the world's plastic, and it is the largest exporter of plastic products".

The unique properties of plastics have earned them an important role in society. However, its production, consumption, and disposal negatively impact the environment and economy, which are not accounted for in the current price of virgin plastic.