, Columnist
In the War Against Plastic, America Is a Big Threat
It's now cheaper to buy new plastic to make drinks containers than it is to buy recycled material. The U.S. shale boom is playing a big part in that.
Message in a plastic bottle.
Photographer: BORIS HORVAT/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
How much do you care about the scourge of plastic waste, and how much more might you pay for a bottled drink in order to reduce it? We may be about to find out.
The cost of brand new polyethylene terephthalate, or virgin PET (the stuff used to make plastic containers and fibers for clothing), fell below the cost of recycled PET earlier this year, according to a report published last week by S&P Global Platts.1 It could well stay there for a while, and that might test bottle-makers’ resolve to boost the share of recycled plastic in their products.