North America Plastic Recycling Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Product (Polyethylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polypropylene, Polyvinyl Chloride, Polystyrene, and Others), By Process (Chemical Recycling and Mechanical Recycling), By End User (Building & Construction, Packaging, Electrical & Electronics, Automotive and Others) and North America Plastic Recycling Market Insights, Industry Trends, Forecast to 2035.

North America Plastic Recycling Market Insights Forecasts to 2035

• The North America Plastic Recycling Market Size Was Estimated at USD 4.86 Billion in 2024
• The Market Size is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of Around 14.03% from 2025 to 2035
• The North America Plastic Recycling Market Size is Expected to Reach USD 20.6 billion by 2035

According to a research report published by Spherical Insights & Consulting, The North America Plastic Recycling Market Size Is Anticipated To Reach USD 20.6 Billion By 2035, Growing At A CAGR Of 14.03% From 2025 to 2035. The market is driven by increasing concerns related to plastic pollution, harmful emissions from the use of petrochemicals, and fluctuating crude oil prices.

Market Overview

The North America plastic packaging market includes the production, transformation, and application of plastic-based materials used for packaging goods across various sectors. The packaging industry uses plastic materials to create lightweight, strong and flexible packaging solutions which protect products and extend their shelf life and decrease shipping expenses. The solution has become a standard requirement for food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, personal care and e-commerce industries.

BASF will release Cycled products, which were produced in the United States through plastic waste recycling, in February 2024. BASF provides its customers with ISCC+ certified advanced recycled building blocks, which the company produces at its Total Energies Petrochemicals (BTP) facility located in Port Arthur, Texas, through its worldwide Chemo Cycling expertise.

The Association of Plastic Recyclers will reopen its APR Recycling Demand Champions Program, which The Recycling Partnership supports in 2025, to honour companies that use North American post-consumer recycled plastic for their operations. The U.S. Plastics Pact, with EPA regulations, ISO standards, and local EPR laws enable packaging to meet requirements for sustainability and circular economy objectives. Amazon announces its largest reduction in plastic packaging in North America to date in 2024.

Report Coverage

This research report categorizes the market for the North America plastic recycling market based on various segments and regions, and forecasts revenue growth and analyses trends in each submarket. The report analyses the key growth drivers, opportunities, and challenges influencing the North America plastic recycling market. Recent market developments and competitive strategies, such as expansion, product launch, development, partnership, merger, and acquisition have been included to draw the competitive landscape in the market. The report strategically identifies and profiles the key market players and analyses their core competencies in each sub-segment of the North America plastic recycling market.

Driving Factors

The plastic recycling market in North America is driven by the rising government funding of advanced plastics recycling technology research. Companies are continuously developing product lines through the use of recycled materials to solve problems that arise from the hazardous nature of plastic waste. Polystyvert, a Canadian chemical company, announced the development of the first full-scale, commercial plant for the production of recycled polystyrene in the Greater Montreal area.

Restraining Factors

The plastic recycling market in North America is hindered by the absence of a strong standard system that collects and sorts plastic waste materials. The production process faces challenges because recycled post-consumer materials experience unpredictable changes in both availability and quality.

Market Segmentation

The North America plastic recycling market share is categorised into product, process, and end user.

• The polyethylene terephthalate segment accounted for the largest market share in 2024 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. 

The North America plastic recycling market is segmented by product into polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and others. Among these, the polyethylene terephthalate segment accounted for the largest market share in 2024 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of the segment is driven by polyethylene terephthalate is widely used in plastic bottles of soft drinks and containers for food and liquids. The material also finds application in medical fields through its use in sutures and vascular grafts. The growing need for PET in these specific uses drives the expansion of PET waste materials.

• The mechanical recycling segment dominated the market in 2024 and is projected to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period.  

Based on process, the North America plastic recycling market is segmented into chemical recycling and mechanical recycling. Among these, the mechanical recycling segment dominated the market in 2024 and is projected to grow at a substantial CAGR during the forecast period. The segmental growth is driven by the company generating recycled plastics through a process that emits minimal greenhouse gases and achieves carbon footprint reduction. The system handles plastic waste from both homes and businesses. The process maintains the molecular structure of the material. The system performs mechanical crushing of plastic materials, which it subsequently remelts into granule form. The resulting granulate material serves as a raw material for production across multiple sectors, including automotive, textile, electrical, electronics, packaging and building and construction.

• The packaging segment accounted for the largest market share in 2024 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. 

The North America Plastic Recycling Market Size is segmented by end user into building & construction, packaging, electrical & electronics, automotive and others. Among these, the packaging segment accounted for the largest market share in 2024 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of the segment is driven by recycled plastics, which have various applications in packaging, including food and non-food containers, beverage bottles, personal care products, household care products and film and sheets and other packaging materials. The main recycled plastics used for packaging purposes include polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene and polystyrene.

Competitive Analysis:

The report offers the appropriate analysis of the key organizations/companies involved within the North America plastic recycling market, along with a comparative evaluation primarily based on their product offering, business overviews, geographic presence, enterprise strategies, segment market share, and SWOT analysis. The report also provides an elaborate analysis focusing on the current news and developments of the companies, which includes product development, innovations, joint ventures, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, and others. This allows for the evaluation of the overall competition within the market.

List of Key Companies                                                                                                                                     

• KW Plastics
• Republic Services, Inc.
• Waste Management, Inc.
• Veolia North America
• Berry Global Group, Inc.
• Avangard Innovative
• Plastipak Holdings, Inc.
• MBA Polymers
• Loop Industries, Inc.
• TerraCycle
• Others

Key Target Audience

• Market Players
• Investors
• End-users
• Government Authorities 
• Consulting and Research Firm
• Venture capitalists
• Value-Added Resellers (VARs)

Market Segment

This study forecasts revenue at the North America, regional, and country levels from 2020 to 2035. Spherical Insights has segmented the North America plastic recycling market based on the below-mentioned segments:

North America Plastic Recycling Market, By Product

• Polyethylene
• Polyethylene Terephthalate
• Polypropylene
• Polyvinyl Chloride
• Polystyrene
• Others

North America Plastic Recycling Market, By Process

• Chemical Recycling
• Mechanical Recycling

North America Plastic Recycling Market, By End User

• Building & Construction
• Packaging
• Electrical & Electronics
• Automotive
• Others