UK-headquartered packaging manufacturer Klöckner Pentaplast (KP, London; www.kpfilms.com) said it has launched what it claims is the first food packaging tray made from 100% rPET derived exclusively from PET trays.

The firm already produces films and trays using up to 35% post-consumer rPET tray flake, but now announced that “some lines” made from its 100% Tray2Tray rPET technology were now available.

KP notes that its Tray2Tray system has the potential to bring more than 50,000 t of rPET back into use.

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Speaking about the initiative, Thomas Kure Jakobsen, KP’s president of food packaging, said, “This achievement is a major breakthrough in the packaging industry, and perfectly demonstrates what is possible with the right combination of expertise and technology. 

“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.”

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Jakobsen added, “We work with suppliers to create a separate supply stream of recycled PET from trays, which can be used to create more of the same, rather than being downcycled.”