We broker waste PET across the chain: post-consumer bottle bales, hot-washed flake, and rPET pellets including food-grade material. PET is the most specification-driven recycled polymer in Europe, intrinsic viscosity, PVC contamination in parts per million and the colour breakdown will move the price more than volume ever does. Demand underneath it is regulatory: the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40, which applies from 12 August 2026, sets binding recycled-content targets from 2030 that no converter can meet without contracted rPET.
Why PET is a specification market
In most recycled polymers a buyer will take a view on a borderline load. In PET they usually cannot, because the material is going back into a bottle or a food tray and the failure mode is a product recall rather than a bad batch.
Intrinsic viscosity (IV) measures polymer chain length and is what determines whether flake can go back into bottle-grade production. It degrades with every heat history, so a load that has been through an extra processing step is a materially different product. PVC is the classic contaminant: at even a few hundred ppm it degrades during extrusion, releases HCl, yellows the melt and can damage equipment, which is why PVC is quoted in ppm and not as a percentage.
Colour is the third lever. Clear and light-blue material commands the premium because it can be made into anything; mixed and green fractions are restricted to strapping, sheet and fibre outlets and price well below.
| Intrinsic viscosity (IV) | dl/g. Bottle-grade resin typically sits around 0.72 to 0.84 dl/g; recycled flake is assessed against the intended outlet. |
|---|---|
| PVC content | Reported in ppm. The most damaging single contaminant. |
| Moisture | Percentage. Drives IV loss during extrusion and freight cost. |
| Colour breakdown | Clear/natural, light blue, mixed, green, as percentages. |
| Other polymers (PE, PP, PA) | Caps, labels, sleeves and barrier layers. |
| Glue, label and sleeve content | Full-sleeve bottles behave very differently from labelled ones in sorting. |
| Metal content | Ferrous and non-ferrous, in ppm. |
| Yellowness index / b-value | Optical quality; matters for clear applications. |
| Bale weight, dimensions, baling wire | Loading, freight and the de-baling step at the recycler. |
| Food-contact status | Whether the recycling process is authorised under Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 for food-contact use. |
| Origin scheme | DRS/deposit-return material behaves differently from kerbside collection and is priced separately. |
The regulation driving demand
Recycled PET is one of the few commodities in this sector where the demand curve is written into law, and the dates are close enough now that converters are contracting rather than watching.
- PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40. In force since 11 February 2025 and applying from 12 August 2026. From 1 January 2030 it sets minimum post-consumer recycled content: 30 % for contact-sensitive PET packaging, 10 % for contact-sensitive plastic packaging other than PET, 30 % for single-use plastic beverage bottles, and 35 % for other plastic packaging. Targets step up again from 2040, with single-use plastic beverage bottles rising to 65 %.
- Single-Use Plastics Directive. Already requires 25 % recycled content in PET beverage bottles from 2025, rising to 30 % for all plastic beverage bottles from 2030.
- Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 governs recycled plastics intended for food contact. A recycling process must be authorised, and the authorisation attaches to the process, not merely to the company. This is the first thing to verify when food-grade rPET is offered.
What we broker
- Post-consumer PET bottle bales: clear/natural, light blue, mixed and green; kerbside and deposit-return origin.
- Hot-washed PET flake: food-grade and non-food-grade, colour-sorted.
- rPET pellets and granulate: including food-grade material from authorised processes.
- PET production arisings: off-grade resin, preform and sheet rejects, purge and lump, edge trim.
- PET trays and thermoformed fractions: a growing and genuinely difficult stream, priced separately from bottle material.
How we work it
We act for waste management companies and sorting facilities placing bales, and for recyclers, preform producers and packaging converters who need contracted volume to hit a recycled-content number they cannot miss.
The two things that decide whether an offer moves are a current analysis and a representative sample. On bales that means IV, PVC in ppm, moisture and a colour breakdown; on flake and pellet it means a full certificate of analysis and, for food-grade, the authorisation reference for the recycling process. With that in hand a serious buyer will price within days. Without it, an offer circulates for weeks and quietly dies.
Export routing also changed in 2026, see waste plastics for the Waste Shipment Regulation dates, which apply to PET as much as to polyolefins.
Frequently asked questions
What IV is needed for bottle-grade rPET?
Virgin bottle-grade PET resin typically sits around 0.72 to 0.84 dl/g, and recycled flake or pellet is assessed against the intended application rather than a single universal number. IV falls with every heat history, so material that has been through additional processing steps is genuinely a different product. Solid-state polycondensation is used to build IV back up for demanding outlets. Always confirm the specific buyer's requirement.
Why is PVC contamination measured in ppm rather than percent?
Because the tolerance is that tight. PVC degrades at PET processing temperatures and releases hydrogen chloride, which yellows the melt, accelerates polymer degradation and can corrode equipment. Even a few hundred ppm causes visible quality problems in clear applications, so buyers specify it in parts per million and test for it independently.
What recycled content will EU packaging law require in 2030?
Under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40, from 1 January 2030: 30 % post-consumer recycled content for contact-sensitive PET packaging, 10 % for contact-sensitive plastic packaging other than PET, 30 % for single-use plastic beverage bottles and 35 % for other plastic packaging. The targets rise again from 2040, with single-use plastic beverage bottles going to 65 %. Verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.
What makes rPET food-grade?
The recycling process must be authorised under Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials intended to come into contact with food. The authorisation attaches to the specific decontamination process, so the right question to an offering party is which authorised process the material came from, not simply whether the company is certified. Input origin and traceability are assessed alongside it.
Do you handle PET trays as well as bottles?
Yes. Tray and thermoform fractions are a separate market from bottle material, with different sorting behaviour, multilayer and barrier complications, and generally fewer outlets. They price independently and should be offered as their own stream rather than mixed into a bottle bale offer.
Can you place deposit-return scheme material?
Yes. DRS material is usually cleaner and more consistent than kerbside collection and is priced separately for that reason. Buyers will still want the same analysis pack, IV, PVC in ppm, moisture and colour breakdown, because scheme origin sets expectations but does not replace testing.
Who to ask about Waste PET & rPET
Ask us. Bales to place or rPET to source? Send the IV, the PVC figure and the colour breakdown and we can move quickly. We answer the same working day, in English or Dutch, and there is no charge and no obligation for a market read or a second opinion on a specification.
You get Bart van den Brug directly, not a call centre and not a form that goes nowhere. We are an independent broker: we never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission only on business that actually concludes. That is why we will also tell you when the answer is no.
+31 6 115 83 448
[email protected]
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Last reviewed 09 August 2026 by Bart van den Brug, Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V. (KvK 99665042), Lemmer, the Netherlands. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice; verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.