Klöckner Pentaplast (KP) has succeeded in creating a closed loop for PET trays.
Four years after launching its Tray2Tray initiative, the Germany-based food packaging manufacturer has launched the first trays made from 100% recycled PET derived exclusively from trays.
The manufacturer has been progressively increasing the share of rPET it included in its trays, hitting 30% in 2022. Today, the entire Tray2Tray portfolio is made with up to 35% rPET, with some lines now made of 100% recycled content. By 2025, KP aims to include at least 30% of Tray2Tray rPET in all its food packaging.
"This achievement is a major breakthrough in the packaging industry, and perfectly demonstrates what is possible with the right combination of expertise and technology,” said Thomas Kure Jakobsen, president food packaging at KP. “Most rPET in the material loop comes from plastic bottles, of which just 30% goes into food packaging trays, and most of this does not end up being recovered. As a result, countless tonnes of rPET tray material are wasted each year,” he added.
KP works with suppliers to close the loop of PET flake from trays. The company estimates the Tray2Tray initiative has the potential to bring more than 50,000 tonnes of recycled PET back into the circular economy. It currently includes more than 114,000 tonnes of post-consumer rPET flake to make 5 billion food trays per year.
National regulations, such as plastic taxes and mandatory recycled content targets, are increasing the demand for recycled PET, especially from producers of food and beverage packaging.
Unesda, the pan-European association representing Europe’s soft drink industry, said in 2022 that rPET was becoming ‘almost as rare and expensive as white truffles or gold’ in the EU, thereby calling for priority access for the beverage industry.
The move by Unesda has been opposed by tray manufacturers, amongst others, citing a potential shortage of rPET suitable for use in their products. Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) has tried to calm spirits by putting forward data suggesting there is enough supply of rPET for everyone.