Fun Facts About PET

• The PET bottle was patented in 1973 by chemist Nathaniel Wyeth (brother of distinguished American painter Andrew Wyeth).
  
• The first PET bottle was recycled in 1977.
  
• An estimated 7,700 curbside collection programs and 10,000 drop-off programs collect PET plastic in the United States, currently.
  
• Approximate number of PET beverage bottles per pound:
  16 oz. -- 18 bottles per pound
  20 oz. -- 19 bottles per pound
  1 liter -- 12 bottles per pound
  2 liter -- 9 bottles per pound
  3 liter -- 5 bottles per pound
  
• Cubic yards conserved in a landfill by recycling PET beverage bottles:
  4,800 recycled 16-ounce bottles saves a cubic yard
  4,050 recycled 20-ounce bottles saves a cubic yard
  3,240 recycled 1-liter bottles saves a cubic yard
  2,430 recycled 2-liter bottles saves a cubic yard
  1,350 recycled 3-liter bottles saves a cubic yard
  
• Since 1978, manufacturers have reduced the weight of a two-liter bottle by about 29%, from 68 grams to 48 grams.
  
• Recycling a ton of PET containers saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.
  
• According to the EPA, recycling a pound of PET saves approximately 12,000 BTU's. (To see our April 2010 Life Cycle Inventory Report, visit our Sustainability page.) 
• The average household generated 42 pounds of PET plastic bottles in the year 2005.
  
• Custom bottles (which are bottles used for products other than carbonated soft drinks) represent 62% of all PET bottles available for recycling.
  
• Nineteen 20 oz. PET bottles yield enough fiber for an extra large T-shirt, or enough to make one square foot of carpet.
  
• It takes 63 20 oz. PET bottles to make a sweater.
  
• Fourteen 20 oz. PET bottles yield enough fiberfill for a ski jacket.
  
• It takes 114 20 oz. PET bottles to make enough fiberfill for a sleeping bag.