Eolas Prints Recycled PET pellets are manufactured from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles — closing the material loop on one of the most widely produced and least-recovered plastics in the waste stream. rPET delivers mechanical properties closely comparable to virgin PETG: good toughness, moderate heat resistance, and a natural translucency. For users whose application does not require virgin-grade consistency, rPET provides a credible circular-economy alternative at a lower material cost than virgin PETG pellets.

Key Specifications

rPET vs Virgin PETG — Key Differences

rPET and virgin PETG are chemically closely related — both are polyethylene terephthalate. The practical differences for 3D printing are:

• Colour consistency: rPET pellets carry residual colour variation between production batches depending on the source bottle mix. Virgin PETG is colourless and batch-consistent. For natural/clear prints, virgin PETG is the better choice.
• Moisture sensitivity: rPET requires the same pre-drying protocol as PETG (65–70°C for 4–6 hours) and may be more sensitive to moisture if not stored correctly after opening.
• Mechanical properties: Very similar in day-to-day applications. rPET may show slightly lower impact strength than virgin PETG depending on the source material quality, but for most structural and enclosure applications the difference is negligible.
• Environmental credentials: rPET has a significantly lower carbon footprint than virgin PETG — producing rPET requires approximately 60% less energy than producing virgin PET from petroleum feedstock.

Suitable Applications

Prototypes and non-critical functional parts where batch colour consistency is not required, enclosures, brackets, and structural components in moderate-temperature environments (up to ~70°C under light load), and any application where demonstrating use of recycled content is a project or procurement requirement.

Available from Eolas Prints

Eolas Prints manufactures its own filament range in Cantabria, Spain. Our pellets are independently sourced from certified recycled feedstock suppliers.