Growth opportunities for food-grade PCR exist in Asia-Pacific

The new market report from Smithers – The Future of PCR for Food-grade Applications to 2029 – shows that surging demand from food and drink brands has caused the market to grow at an annual rate of over 9% since 2019. A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2% is forecast for 2024-2029, pushing consumption to 1.6 million tonnes in 2029.

As per the report, Europe accounts for 65.4% of contemporary sales by volume and will remain the leading market for food-grade PCR resins. New targets set by the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) 2025/40 will boost demand. The region will increase its share of the market over the next five years, reaching 1 million tonnes of PCR in 2029.

Other growth opportunities exist in Asia-Pacific, especially those countries where governments have adopted regulatory requirements, such as Australia, Japan, and South Korea.

This growth in demand will support investment in mechanical and chemical (advanced) recycling lines, smarter sorting equipment, and deposit recovery schemes, as industry works to build a genuinely circular economy for plastics.

Demand for recycled resins is dominated by one polymer, polyethene terephthalate (PET). Global consumption of food-grade recycled PET was 786,100 tonnes in 2024, 76.3% of the total market. This is due to its processability and the decontamination efficiency of conventional mechanical recycling lines, as well as a ready supply of input materials. It will see the fastest rate of expansion over the next five years.

Supply of PCR resins for other common food contact plastics, polyethene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), will be slower, due to problems with sorting and decontamination using mechanical recycling technology.

Beverage packaging is the most significant end-use sector for food-grade PCR packaging – 46% of global consumption in 2024, with PET bottles, the leading application. Annual consumption of PCR in drinks packaging averaged 10% across 2019–24, with a slightly lower rate forecast to 2029. Food formats – trays and other rigid containers – accounted for a further 34% of supply in 2024.

Post-consumer recyclate (PCR) is defined as materials generated by household or commercial facilities, which have been recycled into new products instead of being incinerated or sent to landfills. Examples from the packaging industry include PET beverage bottles and other food contact plastics. Food-grade PCR is are resin that has been sourced, processed and decontaminated for re-use in food and beverage packaging. The input materials must meet defined regulatory specifications and good manufacturing practices to achieve certification for re-use in contact with food.