ICIS expands US recycled PET pricing intelligence

London-based Independent Commodity and Intelligence Services (ICIS) has announced an expanded market analysis for the growing recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) market in the United States.  

The organization says the new weekly US rPET service will provide benchmarkable pricing and intelligence on PET bales, recycled PET (rPET) flakes and rPET pellets to help buyers and sellers transact with confidence and bring transparency into contract negotiations.  

ICIS says demand for recycled plastics is growing, but there is not enough material to supply the market. It says there is no U.S.-wide regulation that mandates the use of recycled content, however, several states, such as California, have mandates in place, further driving demand and the need for information.  

The company says this rising demand has intensified price risk and the need for indexation in contracts to a reliable index. Even without indexation, the need for reliable pricing is required for negotiation and planning as the U.S. recycled plastics market has limited transparency and is often not well-understood.  

"There is a huge requirement for data in the recycling industry to help companies make effective buying and selling decisions, as well as to bring more transparency to the market," says Helen McGeough, senior analyst and global analyst team lead for plastic recycling at ICIS. "This will allow customers to understand the pricing dynamics for rPET in the US and enable them to make more effective buying and selling decisions. It will also bring more transparency to a very opaque, growing market and one which many players are unaccustomed to navigating."  

ICIS says the availability of reliable, up-to-date pricing will benefit the entire plastics value chain. Many fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) organizations have global sustainability targets linked to using recycled plastic. Understanding the pricing dynamics for this market is critical as it will help participants understand how much they should be paying for the material and how changing to recycled plastics may impact their overall costs.   

"The pricing service will provide transparency and insight on prices for rPET in the US for those who are already using or maybe exploring increasing their usage of rPET in their portfolio to achieve their sustainability targets around recycled content," McGeough says. "This latest pricing tool complements current tools providing intelligence on rPET in the US, rPET pricing in other regions and our recycling supply trackers."