North America Plastic Recycling Market Outlook, 2030

The plastics recycling industry in North America has developed into a dynamic mix of municipal collection programs, large-scale industrial recyclers, and multinational corporations that have invested heavily in new technologies and infrastructure. Recycling in the region generally follows a linear process of collection, sorting at materials recovery facilities, washing and shredding, and finally converting into flakes, pellets, or chemical feedstocks for reuse. Packaging waste, particularly PET bottles, HDPE containers, and flexible films, accounts for the largest portion of plastic waste, while multilayer films and laminates are considered the toughest to recycle because of their mixed layers of polymers and adhesives.

The United States alone generates tens of millions of tons of plastic waste each year, and while initiatives have increased domestic recycling, only a fraction is actually processed back into usable material with the remainder still directed toward landfills, incineration, or exports. In response, state governments have expanded deposit return systems and introduced extended producer responsibility laws, while California has already mandated minimum recycled content in PET bottles. ExxonMobil established one of North America’s largest advanced recycling facilities at Baytown, Texas, with a 30,000-tonne annual capacity, while BASF launched its ChemCycling program in the US to produce certified recycled feedstocks for engineered plastics.

Waste Management invested $125 million to grow its film recycling operations under the Natura PCR brand, showing the scale of private sector involvement. New technologies such as TOMRA’s AI-based plastics sorting system in North Carolina are raising purity rates to 95%, proving the role of automation in overcoming contamination challenges. Alongside traditional recycling, bio-based and biodegradable plastics are being promoted, offering reduced greenhouse gas emissions at the production stage but requiring specialized systems to manage end-of-life.

According to the research report "North America Plastic Recycling Market Outlook, 2030,", the North America Plastic Recycling market was valued at more than USD 13.38 Billion in 2024. The region has seen significant investment in advanced recycling facilities aimed at processing difficult plastic waste streams that mechanical recycling cannot handle efficiently. ExxonMobil, BASF, and Dow have introduced large projects to convert waste plastics into feedstocks that can re-enter petrochemical production.

Mechanical recycling remains dominant for PET and HDPE, supported by expansions in bottle-to-bottle recycling infrastructure, while robotics and optical sorters are increasingly deployed to improve recovery rates at materials recovery facilities. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have committed to bottles made from 100% rPET in selected markets, linking recycling targets directly with brand packaging strategies. Waste Management’s expansion of its film recycling business into Natura PCR demonstrates how collection and conversion businesses are scaling to meet demand for post-consumer recycled resins.

Procter & Gamble and Unilever have introduced packaging redesigns that minimize colorants and eliminate difficult-to-recycle closures, aligning with guidance from the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Policy measures continue to shape the landscape, with US states introducing extended producer responsibility frameworks and Canada’s federal government setting ambitious recycled content targets across packaging. The opportunities in the region lie in scaling feedstock supply by expanding deposit return systems, integrating informal collectors into more formal supply chains, and investing in advanced recycling to unlock streams like films and multilayer packaging.

With over 50,000 plastics and recycling companies active and a robust set of regulations pushing for circular solutions, North America has the industrial scale and financial strength to transform its recycling market, provided stakeholders continue to align technology, regulation, and consumer participation to build a resilient and circular plastics economy.

Market Drivers

• Fragmented collection and sorting infrastructure: Recycling systems in North America are fragmented, with curbside programs varying widely between states, provinces, and municipalities. Many communities lack the equipment to sort polypropylene, films, or multilayer packaging, which means valuable material is often landfilled or exported. This uneven infrastructure limits feedstock supply for recyclers, making it difficult to scale operations despite growing corporate and regulatory demand for recycled resins.
• Economic competition with virgin plastics: North America’s abundant oil and gas reserves support low-cost virgin plastic production, especially polyethylene and polypropylene. When fossil fuel prices fall, virgin plastics undercut recycled resins, leaving recyclers unable to compete. Imports of cheaper virgin materials from global markets add to the pressure. This structural challenge reduces the profitability of recycling plants and deters investment in new facilities, even as demand for recycled plastics grows.

Market Challenges

• State-level recycled content mandates: In North America, state-led regulations are a powerful driver of recycling demand. California requires PET bottles to contain at least 15% recycled content from 2022, rising in future years, while Oregon and Washington have passed similar rules. These policies force consumer goods companies and beverage makers to secure recycled materials, boosting demand for rPET, rHDPE, and rPP. The mandates are setting benchmarks for other states and pushing brands toward investments in regional recycling infrastructure.
• Corporate and investor pressure on sustainability: Major US and Canadian brands are embedding recycled content into packaging and products as part of ESG strategies. Companies like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble are rolling out bottles and containers made with 100% rPET, while automotive giants like Ford and GM are testing recycled plastics in vehicle interiors. Investors are also rewarding companies that demonstrate circularity, making recycled plastics an integral part of corporate responsibility and branding in North America.

Market Trends

• Growth of advanced chemical recycling projects: Chemical recycling is expanding rapidly in North America, with companies like ExxonMobil, Dow, Honeywell, and Eastman investing in large-scale projects. Facilities in Texas, Louisiana, and other petrochemical hubs are using pyrolysis and depolymerization to process mixed and hard-to-recycle plastics. These projects are closely tied to existing refining infrastructure, making the US a global leader in chemical recycling deployment. The trend is expected to diversify recycled plastic feedstock and enable higher-quality outputs.
• Brand-led packaging redesigns: To improve recyclability and secure feedstock, North American brands are redesigning packaging. Coca-Cola has replaced green PET bottles with clear ones, while retailers are phasing out colored HDPE containers to increase recovery rates. Unilever and other consumer goods companies are shifting to labels, caps, and closures that simplify recycling. These innovations, driven by brand commitments and regulatory pressure, are reshaping the packaging landscape and making recyclability a design priority.Polypropylene is advancing fastest in North America’s recycling market because it is widely used in packaging, consumer goods, and automotive, and initiatives are scaling technologies to recycle it into high-quality applications.

Polypropylene is one of the most consumed plastics in North America, used in everything from yogurt tubs, take-out containers, and bottle caps to automotive interiors, medical devices, and household products. Historically, PP was harder to recycle at scale because of sorting difficulties, color variation, and odor retention, which meant much of it ended up in landfills or incineration.

In recent years, however, North America has seen a wave of initiatives aimed at unlocking PP recycling. Organizations like The Recycling Partnership have launched the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, which provides grants to material recovery facilities across the US to install sorting equipment capable of capturing more PP from household recycling streams.

Major consumer goods companies, including Procter & Gamble and Unilever, are demanding recycled PP for packaging that meets sustainability pledges and upcoming state mandates on recycled content. Meanwhile, new processing technologies are being deployed to clean and decontaminate PP, producing resins that approach virgin quality. On the automotive side, polypropylene is heavily used in dashboards, trims, and bumpers, and auto manufacturers in North America are under pressure to integrate recycled content to meet corporate sustainability goals and supply chain emission targets. Petrochemical players like LyondellBasell and recyclers like PureCycle Technologies are scaling chemical purification methods to convert contaminated post-consumer PP into high-quality feedstock suitable for food-contact applications.

Post-industrial plastic waste is significant in North America because large-scale manufacturing and packaging industries generate consistent, clean, and easily recyclable plastic scrap.

Post-industrial plastic waste plays a vital role in North America’s recycling market because it is a predictable, high-quality feedstock stream that can be recycled more efficiently than post-consumer waste. Industrial manufacturing across the region, from automotive plants in Michigan to packaging production facilities in Texas and California, produces large volumes of off-cuts, trimmings, defective parts, and unused resin that never reach consumers. This material is usually cleaner, more uniform, and less contaminated than post-consumer waste, making it easier and cheaper to process into recycled resins.

For example, automotive factories generate polypropylene and ABS trimmings during injection molding of dashboards and bumpers, which can be directly collected and recycled into pellets for reuse in non-critical applications. Packaging manufacturers also produce large amounts of polyethylene and polypropylene film scrap during extrusion and cutting processes, which can be reincorporated into new film products with minimal treatment. North American recyclers and resin producers rely on this steady industrial supply to balance the variability and contamination challenges of post-consumer recycling.

Post-industrial scrap also helps chemical recycling companies pilot and scale technologies because the cleaner feedstock provides higher conversion yields, supporting the commercial viability of advanced plants. Regulatory drivers are reinforcing this stream as well, extended producer responsibility programs and corporate sustainability pledges encourage manufacturers to document and recycle their own waste, preventing it from being landfilled. Because North America has such a diverse and industrialized economy, post-industrial plastics form a significant portion of recycled content, ensuring recyclers have a reliable base of input while efforts to expand post-consumer collection continue to mature.

Chemical recycling is growing fastest in North America because large petrochemical companies are investing heavily to scale advanced technologies that can process mixed and contaminated plastics.

North America has become the hub of chemical recycling expansion as the region’s energy and chemical giants deploy their expertise, infrastructure, and capital to address the challenge of plastics that mechanical recycling cannot handle. Plastics such as multilayer films, colored containers, food-soiled packaging, and composite products have traditionally been sent to landfills or incinerated because they are difficult to sort or clean. Chemical recycling technologies, including pyrolysis, gasification, and depolymerization, are designed to break these materials down into their basic chemical building blocks, enabling the creation of new plastics with virgin-like properties.

Companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron Phillips Chemical are piloting and scaling plants that integrate chemical recycling into existing refineries and petrochemical complexes, taking advantage of established supply chains and processing infrastructure. ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling facility at Baytown, Texas, began operating in 2022 with an initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year, making it one of the largest in North America. Honeywell commercialized its UpCycle Process Technology in 2021, with partners planning deployments across the US. BASF’s ChemCycling program has also been extended to the US market, with ISCC+ mass balance certification allowing recycled content to flow into high-value applications.

These developments are driven not only by corporate sustainability commitments but also by regulatory pressure from states like California, Oregon, and Washington, which have introduced recycled content requirements and stricter landfill diversion goals. With investors seeking scalable solutions and brand owners needing high-quality resins, chemical recycling in North America is growing rapidly as it promises to bridge the gap between sustainability targets and the reality of mixed plastic waste streams.

Packaging is the largest segment in North America’s plastic recycling market because it generates the highest volume of plastic waste, and brand owners face strict mandates to incorporate recycled content into their products.

Packaging dominates plastic recycling in North America because it is the single largest source of plastic waste generated by households, retailers, and industries. Items like PET beverage bottles, HDPE milk jugs, LDPE films, polypropylene tubs, and multilayer pouches represent the plastics that consumers discard daily, making packaging the most visible and regulated part of the plastic value chain. The US and Canada have extensive curbside collection systems that prioritize packaging plastics, particularly bottles and containers, which are widely recognized by consumers as recyclable.

States like California, Washington, and Oregon have implemented laws mandating recycled content in plastic packaging, with California requiring PET bottles to include a minimum of 15% recycled plastic starting in 2022. These laws directly drive demand for recycled PET, HDPE, and PP to feed back into the packaging stream. Companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé have responded by introducing bottles made from 100% recycled PET, while retailers and food companies are shifting toward films and rigid containers containing higher recycled content.

Investment has followed this demand: for example, Waste Management’s expansion of film recycling capacity under Natura PCR and new rPET plants launched by Indorama Ventures and Plastipak support the packaging sector. At the same time, consumer pressure to eliminate single-use plastics has accelerated innovation, with brands redesigning packaging for recyclability, such as switching from colored to clear PET bottles. Packaging is also where multinational agreements, such as the US Plastics Pact, focus their targets, making it the central arena where recycling policies and corporate action converge.Large-scale collection systems and strong corporate initiatives drive the United States’ leadership in North American plastic recycling.

The United States leads plastic recycling in North America because of its structured municipal collection programs, powerful private-sector waste management companies, and the presence of large-scale corporate sustainability commitments. Municipalities across the country operate curbside collection and material recovery facilities, ensuring a steady inflow of plastics into recycling streams. Major waste management players like Waste Management Inc., Republic Services, and Advanced Disposal (acquired by Waste Management in 2019) run extensive collection, sorting, and recycling networks, handling millions of tonnes of material every year.

These companies are heavily investing in upgrading infrastructure, as seen when Waste Management invested $125 million in 2023 to expand film recycling operations through Natura PCR to boost production to 400 million pounds annually. On the corporate side, consumer goods giants like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé have launched rPET packaging initiatives in the US to meet state mandates such as California’s 15% minimum recycled content requirement in PET bottles starting 2022. At the same time, chemical recycling investments have taken off, with ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, beginning operations in late 2022 with a 30,000-tonne-per-year capacity, one of the largest in North America.

BASF’s ChemCycling program and Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology are also expanding in the US, leveraging ISCC+ mass balance certification to push recycled feedstock into chemical and polymer supply chains. The combination of these large corporations, advanced technologies, and state-level regulatory frameworks like extended producer responsibility laws and recycled content mandates ensures the US maintains the highest recycling activity in North America. Additionally, widespread public awareness campaigns and collaboration with organizations such as The Recycling Partnership enhance recovery rates, making the US the dominant player in regional recycling activity.

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