HomeOpinionsEnergy & EnvironmentCircular economyMirror, mirror on the wall, is polyethylene terephthalate the most circular of them all? Mirror, mirror on the wall, is polyethylene terephthalate the most circular of them all?

Plastic drinks bottles made from PET have been heralded as the most circular, but there are questions about whether this is really the case, and more needs to be done to ensure they are recycled in a closed-loop, writes Dorota Napierska.

Dorota Napierska is a policy officer on toxic-free consumption at the NGO Zero Waste Europe.

The story of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles, which transformed the beverage industry and changed our habits, began in 1978 when Coca-Cola and Pepsi introduced the first single-use PET bottle. It was lightweight, cheap, disposable and perceived as “perfect”.

Companies convinced consumers that bottled water is healthier, safer, and tastier than tap water. Today, PET bottles are the most common container in the drink market – in 2017, a million plastic bottles were bought worldwide every minute. Bottled water and soft drinks in Europe alone noted an 11% increase in 2019.

But why is PET so popular compared with other materi
als? (...)