Outsized demand for recycled plastic material has caused its prices to nearly double what they were last year, per the WSJ.
Driving new demand: The fashion industry, which has started to move toward recycled plastic-based clothing.
The other factor: Fewer people drinking sodas this summer, which led to a shortage of used plastic bottles to be recycled than in normal years, Alexander Borulev, associate editor of petrochemicals price reporting at S&P Global Platts, says.
The big picture: Prices for recycled PET flakes that are made from plastic bottles have risen in both Europe and the U.S. in 2021, per the WSJ.
- Consumer brands like Nestlé and Coca-Cola have also committed to using more recycled materials in their own products, and reduce the amount of virgin plastic, WSJ reported.
- New EU environmental laws will increase the crunch by setting quotas requiring the use of more recycled material in new PET drink bottles and other packaging materials, according to the WSJ.