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One of PET's most notable qualities is its excellent recyclability. Approximately 1.5 billion pounds of used PET bottles and containers are collected for recycling in the United States each year, making it the most recycled plastic in the United States.

Almost all municipal recycling programs in North America and Europe accept PET bottles and containers, which can be identified by the number "1" in a small triangular symbol molded into the bottom or side of the container.

PET can be recovered and recycled again and again by fully washing and remelting for use in new PET products, or by chemically breaking down PET into its constituent raw materials, which are then purified and converted into new PET. Any PET that is too dirty or polluted to be cleaned properly and not suitable for recycling can be burned safely and efficiently as an energy source. This is called "heat recovery". The PET bottles or jars you put in the recycling bin today can be collected and recycled into a variety of products tomorrow. PET can be recycled into new PET containers, carpets, clothing, protective packaging, industrial strapping, auto parts, construction materials, and even tennis ball felt and tennis ball cans.

Due to PET's full recyclability and its wide range of uses, the recycled PET market is limited only by the amount of material collected from consumers and recycling facilities.

The development of a new facility to recycle used PET bottles into new food-grade PET bottles and containers (closed loop recycling) further increases the resource efficiency and sustainability of PET.