US plastic scrap imports reached record high in 2024

Data from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) show the United States rewrote its own record in regard to plastic scrap imports last year, led by polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

According to a recent report by Emily Friedman, the Houston-based senior recycled plastics editor at London-based commodities consulting firm ICIS, the U.S. remained a net importer of plastic scrap in 2024, bringing in a record 492,101 tons. More specifically, PET totaled a record 250,961 tons—a 23 percent increase over 2023. At the same time, PET scrap exports to Mexico also reached a record high of 46,307 tons—up 32 percent over the previous year.

Trade data from 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau show U.S. imports of plastic scrap, which are noted by the harmonized system (HS) code 3915, rose 10 percent year over year.

Plastic scrap imports include items such as used bottles, purge, leftover pairings and flake.

“Throughout 2024, stagnant PET bottle collection volumes, paired with increasing bottle exports, led to a need for imported PET scrap material,” Friedman writes. “This was further supported by the cost proposition of cheaper imported flake. … As a result, recycled flake imports are seen as both a help and harm to the broader U.S. recycling market.”

Canada remained the top exporter to the U.S. last year, according to the report, followed by Thailand, Ecuador and Japan.

“Market participants confirmed they saw a notable rise in imported recycled resin activity from Asia and Latin America, particularly due to their cost-competitive position when it comes to feedstock, labor and facility costs related to recycling,” Friedman writes, adding that Asian countries now account for more than 44 percent of PET scrap imports, compared to the 26 percent market share from Canada and Mexico—a drop from 34 percent in 2023 and 44 percent in 2022.

Conversely, the report says other plastic scrap imports such as polyethylene (PE), polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride remained “steady,” with PE imports falling 1 percent, though Canada and Mexico remained the largest exporters to the U.S. at 69 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Additionally, while total U.S. plastic scrap exports decreased 2 percent in 2024, exports of PET scrap, largely in bale form, rose 24 percent year over year. In particular, Mexico made up 57 percent of the 81,018 tons exported, followed by Malaysia (12 percent) and Vietnam (7 percent).

“This growing trade relationship is largely attributed to new capacity in Mexico, paired with strong local demand which has elevated local bale prices," Friedman writes of the growth in PET bale exports to Mexico. "Mexican recyclers have been purchasing U.S. PET bales as a lower-cost option with higher availability.”

She notes that exports of bales to Mexico, particularly from parts of the U.S. such as Texas and California, have challenged domestic recyclers who have struggled to secure adequate volumes of bale feedstock.

“As export demand continues to put upwards pressure on bale pricing, local recyclers find themselves stuck between rising feedstock costs and very competitive import virgin and recycled pricing, thus unable to pass along those increased costs,” she writes.

President Donald Trump’s promise to levy 25 percent tariffs on imported items from Canada and Mexico looms over the plastic scrap trade. The tariffs are set to take effect March 4.

In a report for the Plastics Division of the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), board member Sally Houghton of the nonprofit PET Recycling Corp. of California (PRCC) writes that while reclaimers in her state have had a difficult time competing with the combination of Mexico’s aggressive purchasing of PET bales and the continued influx of inexpensive virgin resin coming primarily from Asian countries, tariffs could potentially offer a shift.

“The overall outlook for the plastics market remains uncertain, owing to the potential impact of tariffs, which could significantly alter current dynamics,” Houghton says. “California’s PET market may emerge as a winner, owing to its focus on circularity, although predicting outcomes is not easy. … Cheap resin imports are creating significant struggles for domestic reclaimers, indicating that 2025 could be another challenging year for the recycling industry.”