Global Recycled PET (rPET) Price Tracker

Epignosis Insights, a market research and brand intelligence consultancy, today published the September 2026 edition of its Global Recycled PET (rPET) Price Tracker, documenting an unusually wide split in recycled PET pricing across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The report finds that US bale prices have fallen to their lowest levels in two decades even as European finished-resin prices hold firm on regulatory support, while China's bale-to-flake spread continues to narrow as feedstock supply outpaces demand. Compiled from government, industry-association, company and price-reporting sources, the tracker positions geography — not global feedstock scarcity — as the dominant driver of rPET pricing heading into the fourth quarter of 2026.

Key Findings at a Glance

The report's headline finding is the scale of regional decoupling now visible in rPET markets. North American reclaimers are contending with a structurally oversupplied curbside stream and rising import competition; European converters are bracing for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation's (PPWR) entry into binding force in August 2026; and Asian recyclers are absorbing improved bottle-collection volumes into a market where premium flake values have so far held steadier than raw bale prices. Each of these dynamics is traced back to primary data in the full report, which Epignosis Insights compiled from OPIS price assessments, NAPCOR's PET Recycling Report, European Commission regulatory filings, PlasticsEurope's circular economy analysis and company disclosures from Indorama Ventures, among other sources.

Taken together, the findings point to a market where geography, rather than global feedstock availability, is now the primary determinant of recycled PET pricing. Epignosis Insights compiled the report using a strict single-use-per-source methodology across government agencies, industry associations, company disclosures, consulting and price-reporting firms, and trade news outlets, ensuring the tracker reflects a balanced cross-section of primary data rather than any single market perspective.

North America: Bale Prices Under Structural Pressure

According to the tracker, US mixed-color curbside PET bales fell to 7 cents per pound in early October 2025, down 68% from 21.75 cents per pound a year earlier, with prices touching a low of just 1 cent per pound in August 2025 — a level industry sources describe as unprecedented in the modern history of the US rPET market. The National Association for PET Container Resources found the US PET bottle recycling rate slipped to 30.2% in 2024, even as bale generation at materials recovery facilities increased, while the Association of Plastic Recyclers reported rPET imports grew more than 65% between 2022 and 2024. The combined pressure has driven five US-based reclaimers to close operations over the past twelve months.

Europe: Regulation Holds Prices Firm Despite Soft Demand

In contrast, the tracker shows European rPET prices holding at levels many multiples above the US market. OPIS assessed colourless rPET flakes at €1,331–1,341 per tonne and bottle-grade pellets at €1,718–1,728 per tonne, both DDP Northwest Europe, as of end-June 2026. Epignosis Insights attributes this resilience directly to regulation rather than demand growth: the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive already requires 25% recycled content in PET bottles, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation becomes legally binding across all 27 member states this August, setting a 30% recycled-content threshold for PET contact-sensitive packaging by 2030.

Asia-Pacific: Feedstock Swings Reshape the Bale-to-Flake Spread

China's market moved in the opposite direction of Europe's regulatory floor, the report finds, with bale prices easing on improved domestic bottle collection even as premium rPET flake prices held steady in a $920-to-above-$1,000-per-tonne range. Epignosis Insights notes this divergence between raw and processed material values illustrates how quickly bale-to-flake spreads can shift with seasonal collection patterns and cross-border trade flows in the region.

Why This Matters

For packaging brands, recyclers and investors, the report's central message is that a single global rPET price signal no longer exists. Sourcing strategy, contract structuring and capacity investment decisions increasingly depend on region-specific regulatory calendars and feedstock cycles rather than a unified commodity benchmark. The tracker's outlook section highlights Indorama Ventures' continued capacity expansion — including a $150 million investment in three new Indian recycling plants — as a signal that leading producers are positioning for multi-year regulatory-driven demand rather than near-term spot-price recovery.

Epignosis Insights notes that the divergence also carries implications for procurement teams negotiating annual or multi-year rPET supply contracts. Buyers sourcing food-grade, bottle-to-bottle material in Europe should expect continued price resilience as the PPWR's compliance deadlines approach, while North American buyers may find near-term opportunity in a bale market still working through oversupply. In China, the report cautions that bale-to-flake spreads remain volatile enough that fixed-price contracts carry meaningfully different risk profiles than in the more regulation-anchored European market.

About the Report

The Global Recycled PET (rPET) Price Tracker is a monthly publication from Epignosis Insights, covering pricing, regulatory and company developments across the recycled PET value chain in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Each edition draws on government agencies, industry associations, company annual reports and investor presentations, price-reporting and consulting sources, and trade news, with no single source cited more than once per report.
About Epignosis Insights
Epignosis Insights is a market research and brand intelligence consultancy providing market sizing, competitive intelligence, price tracking and brand health research across industrial, consumer and sustainability-focused sectors.

Media Contact

Epignosis Insights Research Team — for full access to the September 2026 Global Recycled PET (rPET) Price Tracker, including detailed regional charts and the complete source list, contact the Epignosis Insights research desk.