PET Plastic Recycling
Drink bottles, clear food trays and other Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging can build up quickly in offices, warehouses, hospitality businesses and manufacturing sites. Business Waste arranges PET plastic recycling across the UK, with suitable bins and scheduled or one-off collections for commercial PET waste.
Tell us what PET your business produces, how much there is and its form. We’ll confirm the appropriate collection setup and arrange removal through registered waste carriers, with the relevant Duty of Care paperwork provided.
Clean, separated PET can be processed into recycled PET (rPET) for use in new packaging, sheets, fibres and other products.
Get a fast quote
Get a fast FREE quote for PET recycling
- Free quote within 1 hour
- Commercial PET plastic assessed
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK
What PET plastic waste can we recycle?
We can arrange collection and recycling of many PET plastics, including:
- Clear PET drink bottles
- Food and ingredient bottles
- PET jars and containers
- Suitable PET food trays
- Clear PET packaging
- PET sheets and rigid packaging
- Clean PET manufacturing offcuts
- Other identifiable PET products marked with resin code 1
Recycling options can vary for coloured, opaque, laminated or heavily contaminated PET. Tell us about any labels, coatings, food residue or other materials attached to the plastic when requesting your quote.
If your business requires a one-off PET collection, we can arrange this. Simply pass on details to our team and we’ll handle the rest.
How PET plastic recycling works for businesses
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Tell us what PET you produce
Let us know whether you have bottles, trays, packaging or production scrap, along with the approximate volume.
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Agree on a collection setup
We recommend suitable bins or containers based on your PET volumes, available space and collection frequency.
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Keep accepted PET separate and clean
Empty packaging if practical and avoid mixing PET with food, liquids or other contaminants. We will confirm whether your PET can share a container with other accepted plastics.
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Arrange collection
Collections are arranged through registered waste carriers on the agreed schedule.
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PET is sorted and recycled
The PET is transferred to an appropriate facility, where it can be sorted, cleaned and processed into recycled PET material.
What is PET plastic?
PET is a thermoplastic commonly used for drink bottles, food packaging, trays and other rigid plastic products. It’s identified by resin identification code 1, often shown in the triangular symbol on bottles and packaging.
PET is also a form of polyester, which means the same polymer family is used in some textile fibres. However, polyester clothing and fabrics normally require a textile waste route rather than a standard PET packaging collection.
PET plastic is used to make many products, such as:
- Plastic drinks bottles
- Mouthwash bottles
- Food containers
- Sleeping bags
- Carpet and clothing fibres
Is PET plastic recyclable?
PET plastic is recyclable. PET bottles and suitable PET trays can be sorted, cleaned and reprocessed into recycled PET, commonly called rPET. This can then be used in new packaging and other products.
Whether an individual PET item can enter a particular recycling stream depends on factors such as its colour, contamination, labels, coatings and any other materials attached to it.
How is PET plastic recycled?
PET is normally sorted from other materials and separated by type and colour. The plastic is then cleaned and processed into flakes, which can be reprocessed into recycled PET pellets or other feedstock.
Recycled PET can be used in products including new bottles, trays, sheets and polyester fibres. Some specialist facilities can also use chemical recycling processes to break PET into raw materials for further manufacturing.
Suitable PET can support closed-loop applications such as bottle-to-bottle recycling. Recycled PET intended for food-contact packaging must meet the relevant food-safety requirements.
Why is PET recycling important?
PET has established recycling markets, particularly for clear bottles and suitable packaging. Keeping clean PET separate from general waste can preserve material quality and improve the available recycling options.
If your business produces regular quantities of PET bottles, trays or manufacturing scrap, a dedicated recycling setup can also reduce the volume you place in residual waste.
How should PET be prepared for recycling?
Keep PET packaging free from significant food, liquid and chemical contamination. Empty bottles and containers before placing them in the agreed recycling bin and follow the collection specification for lids, labels and other packaging components.
Large labels, sleeves, coatings and mixed materials can affect how PET packaging is identified and recycled, so businesses producing high volumes of consistent packaging should tell us exactly what the material contains.
How to dispose of PET plastic
To dispose of PET plastic as a business, you must arrange commercial waste collection by licensed waste carriers. An easy way to do this is with Business Waste. We provide free bins to store any type of plastic waste together, and then licensed waste carriers remove them and take them to a recycling centre. To dispose of PET plastic responsibly:
- Get a free no obligation quote for plastic waste collection. Tell us where you’re located in the UK, the number and size of bins you need (or the amount of plastic waste you produce), and how often you want the bins collected.
- We’ll deliver free plastic bins to your business. Fill each one with your plastic waste (it can be just PET plastic waste or a combination of different types of waste plastic). Ensure all bins are filled within any max weight or fill lines.
- Move the plastic bins to the agreed collection spot ahead of pickup time. Our licensed waste carriers will remove them and replace them with any new bins requested – you only pay for the collection.
- The plastic waste is moved to a nearby waste management facility. PET plastic will be separated from other waste and plastic types, and then sent to an appropriate facility for mechanical or chemical recycling.
- You’ll get a free duty of care certificate that confirms your waste PET plastic was removed and disposed of legally, safely, and in an environmentally friendly manner.
Disposing of PET plastic at home is normally quick and easy. Check if your local authority accepts PET 1 plastic in your domestic recycling bins – most councils and authorities do. Clean and dry your waste PET products to remove contaminants and then place them in your household recycling bin.
If you have large volumes of PET plastic waste, consider taking it to your local HWRC or contact Business Waste for a free quote for collection.
Who needs to recycle PET plastic?
Most businesses produce some kind and amount of PET plastic waste during their daily operations. It could be empty drink bottles thrown away in the office kitchen bin or packaging materials in a warehouse.
Some key industries that should be recycling PET plastic include:
- Retailers: drink bottles, product packaging and PET trays
- Hospitality: drinks, ingredient and food packaging
- Offices: drink bottles from staff and visitors
- Warehouses and distribution: damaged or surplus PET packaging
- Food and drink manufacturers: bottles, trays and production scrap
- Packaging manufacturers: PET sheet and manufacturing offcuts
Arrange PET plastic waste collection
Arrange a one-off or scheduled PET collection for your business. Tell us the type and approximate volume of PET, your postcode and preferred collection frequency, and we’ll confirm the suitable bins and recycling route.
PET recycling FAQs
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How is PET plastic made?
PET plastic is made by the polycondensation of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. These are combined to form pellets. The pellets of PET plastic are then polymerised and put through the relevant manufacturing process to create plastic bottles and other products
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Why is PET plastic used for drinks bottles?
PET plastic is used to make drinks bottles as it’s strong, lightweight, and shatter-resistant – making it safer than glass. It’s transparent with the option of adding colours, which makes it ideal for packaging different drinks. Global health authorities recognise PET plastic as safe to contain food and beverages.
PET plastic is incredibly versatile and has great thermostability. As it’s lightweight this means more plastic bottles can be transported at once together (either full or empty), reducing transport costs. Plus, PET is 100% recyclable.
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When was PET plastic invented?
PET was invented in 1941 by John Rex Whinfield, James Tennant Dickson, and the Calico Printers’ Association in Manchester. This was the year PET was patented. However, a patent for PET plastic bottles wasn’t secured until 1973 by Nathaniel Wyeth, a Dupont engineer.
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How long does it take for PET plastic to decompose?
It can take around 450 years for PET plastic to decompose and break down. This is mainly because bacteria can’t consume and break down the chemicals used to create PET products. Recycling PET plastic is therefore vital to prevent it from ending up in landfill and taking hundreds of years to decompose.
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What temperature does PET plastic melt at?
PET plastic has a melting point of 245°c. This may seem high but it’s a lot lower than the melting points of glass and aluminium. It means less energy is required to melt PET plastic when recycling and turning it into new products, making it a sustainable alternative.
Get a fast and free quote
Get a fast FREE quote for plastic waste collection
- Free quote within 1 hour
- Commercial PET plastic assessed
- FREE bins and delivery
- We cover all of the UK
Published 16th June 2023 by Mark Hall. Last modified 16th September 2026