Recycled Plastics Market Size, By Polymer Type, By Source Type, By Recycling Technology, By End Use, Growth forecast, 2025 - 2034

Recycled Plastics Market Size

The global recycled plastics market was valued at USD 58.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow from USD 62.7 billion in 2025 to USD 125.7 billion in 2034, at a CAGR of 8% according to latest report published by Global Market Insights Inc.

• Major industries are operating to incorporate recycled plastics to help integrate into the global supply chain to reduce carbon footprint and environmental waste. Companies are trying to replace their virgin resins with recycled plastic alternatives due to the increase in price for crude oil and the goals of sustainability. The OECD reports that the global production of Recycled plastic has increased to 42 million tons of plastic in 2022 from 36 million tons of plastic in 2019. That is a 17% increase and healthy growth during globally disruptive times.
   
• Considering that, and as much as progress is noted, Recycled plastic is barely 10% of the total plastic production, over 400 million tons was produced in 2022 according to the OECD Global plastics outlook. Europe is leading with a 34% recycled plastic rate, almost triple that of the United States which is approximately 9.5%. There are new investments in the United States to help bridge the gap.
   
• The price for recycled PET in North America is USD 0.86 per pound due to increase in demand and limited supply, which is approximately the same price as Virgin PET, and that is during the year 2022. The price increase for recycled plastic now makes it economically viable to use as a raw material.
   
• Investments in new recycling technologies and compliance of brands toward national mandates as well as California’s 30% recycled content rule for plastic bottles are expected to help reach scalable circular solutions.
   

Recycled Plastics Market Trends

• Scale-Up of Chemical Recycling — Mechanical regrind does not meet target purity levels for films and multilayers, which drives producers to focus on commercializing depolymerization instead. Eastman is building a metanalysis plant in Tennessee for USD 1 billion (110 kt/yr PET), and ExxonMobil's Baytown pyrolysis unit shipped its first circular polyethylene pellets in 2023. These projects demonstrate investor confidence that chemical routes will recover landfill and incineration-bound feedstock.
   
• Mandates for Policy-Driven Content — Content mandates have shifted recycled content from merely desirable to compliance-required. California's policy mandates a 2025 target of 25% and a 2030 target of 50% recycled content beverage bottle. Similar to the EU Draft Packaging Regulation, which mandates 30% recycled content for contact-sensitive packaging, California's law is a first of its kind. Companies that secure consistent rPET and rHDPE streams will avoid the 0.5% of annual turnover fines that are disproportionate to the recycled content spending.
   
• Brand Sponsored Circular Infrastructure — To counter feedstock risk, FMCGs are financing or outright purchasing recyclers. Coca-Cola co-financed Indorama’s new 100 kt/yr rPET line in Brazil, and in the fashion industry, H&M invested in Syre’s closed-loop polyester platform. Nike's "Reuse-A-Shoe" program is another example, as it collects 1.5 million pairs of shoes annually for material recovery and in-house processing. Vertical integration of recycling as a primary competitive strategy is gaining traction, as demonstrated by unprecedented levels of integration seen in the marketplace.
   
• Digital Traceability & Smart Sorting — Artificial intelligence and additional data layers are maximizing the value extracted from each bale. The European Brands Association - TOMRA partnership to sort and pre-process food packaging using invisible watermarks and illuminated TOMRA optical sorters. In France, recycling proof is provided to dairies along the supply chain with auditable QR coded blockchain milk passes. Consumers can scan to verify the recycled content of each package, confirming its second life.
   

Recycled Plastics Market Analysis

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Based on polymer type, the market is segmented into PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), LDPE (low-density polyethylene), PS (polystyrene), Others (PVC, ABS, PC). The PET segment was valued at USD 29 billion in 2024, and it is anticipated to expand with 7.9% CAGR during 2025-2034.
 

• Public discourse continues to center on recycled polymers due to textile upcycling booms and content mandates from the beverage sector. The bottle-to-bottle loops are the most rapidly expanding sector. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo contracted over 1.2 million tons of rPET through 2026, leading Indorama, Alpek, and Plastipak to make capacity investments on three continents. Fashion brands are altering their textile fiber sources, leading China to produce rPET yarn at over virgin levels for the first time in the marketplace.
   
• Significant development beyond-PET, and in particular, HDPE, PP, and LDPE polymers, is spurred by retailer responses to flexible-packaging waste. Deposit schemes on detergent jugs and AI sorters increase food-grade HDPE yields. Advanced Recycling Start-ups such as PureCycle and Braskem aiming at odor-free PP pellets for the cosmetics market are already in the development stage. Early-stage styrene depolymerization and PVC dissolution pilots indicate even the historically "problem" resins are likely to capture premium circularity margins by 2030.
   

Based on Source type, the recycled plastics market is segmented into Post-consumer recycled (PCR), post-industrial recycled (PIR). The Post-consumer recycled (PCR) was valued at USD 43.6 billion in 2024, and it is anticipated to expand to 8.1% of CAGR during 2025-2034.
 

• Once break-even services, municipal curbside systems now have acquisition bids from resin producers eager to fetch feedstock. They’re rolling out AI sorters, robotics and barcode tracing to lift recovery rates, and certify chain-of-custody. Deposit-return schemes now also include HDPE and aluminum. They are able to deliver bale purity above 95%, which guarantees processors premium pricing, especially under Europe’s stringent recycled-content mandates in force today.
   
• Retail take-back programs have jumped from pilot bins to omnichannel logistics platforms. Walmart’s hubs and Decathlon’s in-store shredders create predictable, brand-owned PCR flows tied to shopper rewards. Zero-waste pledges have also enabled formerly unsaleable post-industrial scrap to be monetized. Auto and electronics OEMs recapture off-cuts onsite, blend them with PCR, and market the alloy as certified low-carbon resin to packaging converters.
   

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Based on recycling technology, the recycled plastics market is segmented into Mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and advanced recycling technologies. Mechanical recycling was largest and valued at USD 49.1 billion in 2024, and it is anticipated to expand to 7.9% of CAGR during 2025-2034, constituting 84.6% in overall market share.
 

• Over 80 % are still mechanically recycled. As a result, a great deal of capital is invested into cleverer sortation and washing-line retrofits. The combination of robots, Near-Infrared (NIR) cameras, and cloud-based integrated systems is predicted to improve PET and HDPE yield by 12-15 % based on 2019 standards, while closed-loop water systems reduce operational expenditure (OPEX). Converters such as Alpla and Logoplaste now place grinders beside bottling plants to reduce emissions from transport and feedstock.
   
• Similarly to food-grade PET, hydraulically strippable chemical routes such as pyrolysis, depolymerization, and gasification is gaining the same sort of momentum from brands. ExxonMobil, Dow, and TotalEnergies have signed 10-year offtake deals concerning 500 kt/yr “circular naphtha” which triggers the “circular economy” by enabling the use of closed loop systems and “circular” hybrid systems which mechanically recycle and chemically recycle. variable Government grants in the U.S. and Japan scale buyer risk while mass-balance certification improves buyer demand on the recycled plastics.
   

In end use segment, packaging segment was valued at USD 34.3 billion in 2024, and it is anticipated to expand to 7.8% of CAGR during 2025-2034, constituting 59% in overall market share.
 

• Packaging is absorbing over 50% of the demand for recycled polymers and is tightening specifications. The use of food-grade rPET skyrocketed after the implementation of EU Regulation 2022/1616 and California’s AB 793, which required converters to certify traceability through EFSA approvals and FDA letters of no objection. Non-food segments, including household cleaners and personal care tubes, now specify 50% post-consumer recycled content, creating greater demand for odor-controlled rHDPE and rPP.
   
• Recycled plastics are incorporated by automakers into dashboards, under-hood liners, and bumpers, while Ford’s Bronco features 100% ocean-plastic wiring-harness clips. Construction companies integrate rPVC and rLDPE to meet lightweight panel construction which earns LEED credits, while also reducing resin costs by 15%. Apparel companies, such as Adidas, sold 23 million pairs of rPET shoes, while Dell’s laptops are housed in recycled-ABS and marketed as eco-friendly.
   

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• In North America, brand demand coupled with innovation in chemicals expands the region’s market value, projected at USD 15.2 billion in 2024 to USD 29.9 billion in 2034. The U.S. market was valued at USD 8.8 billion in 2024, with a projected 8% CAGR to 2034. 
   
• In the U.S., there is movement toward vertically integrated recycling systems instead of fragmented systems. Public-private partnerships have especially strengthened the availability of rPET and rHDPE in California and the southeastern United States. 
   
• In Europe region, the recycled plastics market expanded from USD 18.7 billion in 2024 to USD 34.2 billion in 2034, primarily due to regulatory pressure from the EU on the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation. The market for Germany valued at USD 6.3 billion in 2024 is expected to grow at 6.1% CAGR to 2034. 
   
• Germany is a recycling innovation ecosystem because of its extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, mandated minimum embossed reusable container (PCR) content in packaging, and obligations in recycling. Lead scale PET bottle-to-bottle recycling systems with Clarke and ALPLA in Germany, and enhanced recycling systems with Meritor in the United States.
   
• AI-driven sorting facilities along with mass balance standards are increasing the scalability of high-grade output across northern and central Germany and increasing the recycled content of rigid plastics to over 30% on certain packaging formats.
   
• Asia Pacific region is the global volume and value market leader and expected to increase from USD 22.4 billion in 2024 to USD 45.6 billion in 2034 mainly due to demand from the manufacturing industry and recycling policies from the government.
   
• For the same period, China's market is expected to increase from USD 9.8 billion with a 7.4% CAGR annually and will grow USD 9.8 billion in 2024. Due to the high demand of PET in the packaging industry and textiles, China continues to lead the region in the production and consumption of recycled plastics. China's government implemented a Circular Economy Action Plan which targets 20% of recycled materials to be included by 2025.
   
• With Sinopec and Yibi, China has also advanced in the integration of chemical recycling with pyrolysis and depolymerization for value applications in packaging and textiles to plastics and textiles. Pretreated waste chemical recycling in pyrolysis and depolymerization along with chemical recycling for paper and textiles has also been integrated.
   
• Growth in Latin America recycled plastics market stems from increased recycling of FMCGs and projects involving integration of the informal sector. The market is projected to grow from USD 4.1 billion to USD 8.8 billion between 2024 and 2034. For the same period, Brazil’s market is expected to grow from USD 1.7 billion and is growing at a 7.2 % CAGR.
   
• Strong ecosystems for the collection of PET and the industries’ retail take-back programs, especially in São Paulo and Rio, are advantageous for Brazil. Domestic processing is growing partly due to the reliance of Brazil’s textile and packaging industries on rPET.
   
• Despite the weaknesses in municipal infrastructure, the National Solid Waste Plan (PNRS) and private collection schemes are still able to assimilate informal waste pickers into sustainable supply chains that are, for the most part, focused on polyethylene and polypropylene.
   
• In MEA, Increases in plastic consumption and the establishment of new sorting infrastructure explain this market’s expected growth from USD 2.8 billion in 2024 to USD 6 billion in 2034. For this same period, South Africa’s market, valued at USD 620 million in 2024, is expected to grow at a 6.5% CAGR to 2034.
   
• As PETCO reports PET collection rates that exceed 60%, South Africa has emerged as a recycling leader on the continent. New rPET and rHDPE plants are being co-financed by retail and foodservice brands, who are also expanding the capacity of the plants.
   
• Innovation stemming from local entrepreneurs, combined with EPR regulations according to the South African Waste Act, is economically rationalizing recycling, especially in urban centers such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.
   

Recycled Plastics Market Share

• Indorama Ventures, Veolia Environnement, Suez SA, Plastipak Holdings (Clean Tech), Alpek Polyester / DAK Americas accounted for market share of 30% of the global market in 2024.
   
• The recycled plastics market is disorganized but is starting to be overtaken by an integrated few. Indorama Ventures is the world leader in this space in terms of capacity, vertically integrated from operating rPET feedstock in Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and reprocessing facilities across the three regions. Their joint ventures with beverage brands guarantee consistent and stable demand, especially bottle-to-bottle applications, which comprise the majority of their recycled output growth. Indorama Ventures also has contracts with suppliers and distributors of recycled polyethylene terephthalate to ensure a stable supply of rPET to their packaging plants.
   
• Using waste management as a base, Veolia and Suez SA are creating full EPR systems, including municipal solid waste collection and revenue-creating recyclable plastic recovery. Their unique position in Europe with EPR compliance and industrial scale in place allows them to sell certified food grade recycled plastics to large consumer goods clients as recyclables. Suez has also been folding in Southeast Asia as an extension for the region’s emerging recyclable plastic growth.
   
• Plastipak Holdings and Alpek/DAK Americas concentrate on closed loop systems for rPET, which is for packaging and especially gPET plastic bottles. Their proximity to large bottling plants has also created a robust logistics and packaging supply chain. The consolidation trend is a result of companies trying to obtain post-consumer feedstock and lock in long-term offtake agreements to secure output.
   

Recycled Plastics Market Companies

The major players operating in recycled plastics industry include:

• Indorama Ventures
• Veolia Environnement
• Suez SA
• Plastipak Holdings (Clean Tech)
• Alpek Polyester / DAK Americas
   
• Indorama Ventures: With an 8.3% share in the recycled plastics market, Indorama Ventures leads the sector concentrating on rPET with bottle-to-bottle infrastructure. Having a presence in over 30 countries, it has expanded in the U.S. and Brazil through partnerships with Coca-Cola. In 2023, it declared a joint-venture with Evertis aimed at recycling food-grade PET trays in Mexico. 
   
• Veolia Environnement: With a 6.7% market share, Veolia is using its worldwide waste management network to bolster its recycling activities. The company has advanced sorting and food-grade polymer recycling facilities in Europe. In 2024, a partnership with L’Oréal will enable Veolia to deliver high-purity recycled HDPE for cosmetics packaging, a first step in many to align with the circular economy and brand commitments. 
   
• Suez SA: With a 5.8% share, Suez is concentrating intensively on polymer reprocessing and incorporating that into their traditional waste services. Focus will be on the production of sustainable, high-grade recycled polyethylene and rPET in Europe and Southeast Asia. In 2024, a new recycling facility will commence operations in Thailand with an annual capacity of over 30,000 tons of plastics.
   
• Plastipak Holdings (Clean Tech): Plastipak Clean Tech division has a 5% market share mainly servicing large beverage customers with rPET. Its competitive advantage involves closed-loop systems situated directly adjacent to bottling facilities. An expansion project launched in late 2023 aimed at increasing food-grade rPET extrusion capacity in Spain to double what it had previously. 
   
• Alpek Polyester / DAK Americas: Alpek has a market share of 4.2% in the US with DAK Americas, focusing primarily on the North American rPET market for supplying major CPG brands. Alpek has long-term contracts for feeding supplies which will enhance market positioning through vertical integration for the newly added bottle-grade recycling line in Georgia.
   

Recycled Plastics Industry News

• In June 2024, Indorama Ventures broadened its PET recycling capabilities within Brazil by 50%. This will assist in building the company’s international sustainability goal of recycling 750,000 tons of post-consumer PET by 2025. This will gain sustainability goal and the growing demand for food-grade recycled plastics in South America. 
   
• In February 2024, Veolia Environnement announced the opening of an advanced recycling facility in France designed for converting unrecyclable plastics within the circular economy. This will help strengthen the company’s position in chemical recycling within the integrated European circular economy. 
   
• In October 2023, Veolia Environnement partnered with Unilever and Mondelez to promote closed-loop recycling in Europe. This collaboration centers around enhancements to the suite of mechanical recycling tools and the availability of food-grade recycled plastics in the European Union. 
   
• In March 2022, Suez SA strengthen its recycled plastics operations within Latin America after acquiring a majority interest in processor Cimelia. This completes Suez’s vertical integration to meet the heightened demand for recycled polymers and sustainable packed goods within the region.
   

The recycled plastics market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue (USD Billion) & (Kilo Tons) from 2021 to 2034, for the following segments:

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Market, By Polymer Type

• PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)
  • Bottle-to-bottle recycling
  • Textile fiber applications
• HDPE (High-density polyethylene)
• PP (Polypropylene)
• LDPE (Low-density polyethylene)
• PS (Polystyrene)
• Others (PVC, ABS, PC)

Market, By Source Type

• Post-consumer recycled (PCR)
  • Municipal collection systems
  • Deposit-return schemes
  • Retail take-back programs
• Post-industrial recycled (PIR)

Market, By Recycling Technology

• Mechanical recycling
  • Chemical recycling
  • Pyrolysis
  • Depolymerization
• Gasification
• Advanced recycling technologies

Market, By End Use

• Packaging
  • Food-grade packaging
  • Non-food packaging
• Automotive
  • Interior applications
  • Exterior applications
• Construction and building
• Textiles and apparel
• Electronics and electrical
• Others

The above information is provided for the following regions and countries:

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific 
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Argentina
  • Rest of Latin America 
• MEA
  • UAE
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East and Africa