SPE Thermoforming Quarterly - SPE Thermoforming Division

Thermoforming Quarterly is a journal published quarterly by the Thermoforming Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers. The magazine is a great way to keep up with industry trends and developments. SPE Thermoforming Division members receive the magazine by mail four times a year. Non-members can access old issues here via PDF file. If you are not an SPE member this is a great reason to join! Become a member today to start receiving this valuable information in your mailbox.

We welcome objective, technical and related articles that provide valuable information to our community of thermoformers, toolmakers, material suppliers and OEMs. Articles are typically 1500-2000 words. We recommend viewing past articles for further guidance. All submissions should be in MS Word, 12-pt Times New Roman.

Artwork, illustrations, photos and graphics should be 300 dpi. We prefer .eps .jpeg and .pdf files

2026 Deadlines for content and artwork: First Quarter: February 15; Second Quarter: May 15; Third Quarter: August 15; Fourth Quarter: November 15.

- Digital TQ Sponsorship Opportunities – NEW

Contact Megan Uphaus at muphaus@thermoformingdivision.com for more information.

First Quarter 2026

PET Recycling at 30 Years

The National Association of PET Container Resources’ (NAPCOR) 2024 PET Recycling Report marks a significant milestone: 30 years of continuous, data-driven tracking of PET recycling in North America.

The 2024 data tell a nuanced story. PET recycling remains resilient and functional at scale, yet faces mounting pressures from low-cost imported material, market volatility, package lightweighting, contamination, and uneven policy support.

At the same time, PET thermoform recovery has emerged as one of the most dynamic and consequential developments in the PET packaging system, revealing both progress and persistent challenges that will shape the next phase of circularity.

One of the most significant findings in NAPCOR’s 2024 PET Recycling Report is the dramatic increase in recovered PET thermoforms across the US and Canada. Total estimated thermoform recovery reached 264 million pounds in 2024, a 52 percent increase—or 91 million pounds—over 2023.

This growth did not occur because thermoforms suddenly became easier to recycle in 2024. Rather, the data reflect a more accurate accounting of thermoforms that have long been moving through the recycling system, primarily within PET bottle bales. Advances in artificial intelligence, optical sortation, and robotics at material recovery facilities (MRFs) and reclaimers have enabled more accurate identification of thermoform content in PET bales, and refinements to NAPCOR’s survey method have increased visibility of thermoform content in the PET recycling stream.

As a result, thermoforms collected for recycling that were previously undercounted are now being captured more clearly in NAPCOR’s data. The sharp year-over-year increases in collection between 2022 and 2024 likely occurred more gradually than the data shows.

Chemical Characterization of Post-Industrial Recycled PET from Multilayer PET/PE Sheets

Trays made from thermoformed plastic sheets represent the second major application of PET packaging after beverage bottles. PET recycling is promoted in the European Union, where ambitious targets for recycling rates and recycled content in packaging have already been established. However, PET trays, contrary to most beverage bottles, pose recycling challenges due to multilayer structures with polyethylene (PE) tie-layers and barrier materials. In this study, a delamination process using a hot alkaline solution was applied to postindustrial multilayer PET/PE thermoforming waste to recover PET flakes and produce sheets containing varying rPET contents. The process showed > 95% PE removal. Sheets incorporating rPET exhibited increased yellowness, haze and decreased intrinsic viscosity but maintained suitable thermal properties for thermoforming applications. Among thermal properties, only the cold crystallization temperature was notably affected. Results from FTIR and GC–MS analyses, combined with principal component analysis, were used to differentiate the samples containing rPET and confirmed chemical similarity between recycled and virgin PET, although residual tie-layer compounds and delamination process residues were detected. Overall migration tests yielded values below regulatory limits, while untargeted GC–MS screening revealed the presence of degradation products, surfactant residues and oligomers. As expected, sheet production led to a decrease in the concentration of volatile and semivolatile migrants. However, higher concentrations of oligomers, particularly 1st series cyclic trimers, were quantified by LC–MS in the sheets compared to the flakes, indicating thermal stress effects during extrusion. Several PET degradation compounds were also identified in the sheets, highlighting the need for further migration studies to assess safety. These findings demonstrate that alkaline delamination is an effective strategy for recovering PET from multilayer tray waste although safety assessment of oligomers and specific migrants remains essential for food-contact applications.

Complete articles are published in the magazine and mailed to SPE Thermoforming Division Members.

2026