A Leeds-based company has announced a groundbreaking development that promises to create a ‘sea change’ in the disposal of trays within the food and drink industry.
Currently, various manufacturers utilize diverse forms of rPET (Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate) for production. This inconsistency complicates the recycling of trays on a large scale, as different materials must be sorted into separate recycling streams. Consequently, consumers face confusion, and recyclers encounter challenges that render recycling time-consuming, costly, and commercially unviable.
In contrast, LVF noted that plastic drinks bottles maintain uniformity in material composition, allowing for efficient recycling and reintegration into the manufacturing process, thus aligning with the principles of food and drink sustainability.
Daniel Coates, LVF Packaging’s business development director, emphasized, “There’s been a huge amount of time and effort spent on finding plastic alternatives for packaging over the years, but to date, nothing has come close to matching it as the best option. The difficulties though arise when different materials are used to make the same type of products and so restrict the viability of them being recycled.”
Coates further stated, “Clear rPET Mono is, without a shadow of a doubt, the perfect solution. It’s cheaper than standard rPET PE, which is a huge commercial plus point for it, while an agreement to use it as standard across all packaging would change the face of recycling in this country.” This highlights the potential of sustainable packaging in the food and drink sector.
However, Coates insisted that while many packaging manufacturers are transitioning to clear rPET Mono, these initiatives lack backing from the Government. He remarked, “There simply isn’t a nationwide approach to recycling; instead, everything is left down to the local councils, who, as we know, have different recycling rules and different coloured recycling bins – a recipe for confusion up and down the country.”
To address this issue, Coates urged, “The Government needs to step in, take the recycling matter out of the hands of individual local authorities and create a joined-up approach to increase recycling across the board. By doing so, they would remove consumer confusion; throw their support behind the packaging manufacturers and retailers in the strides they’re taking to stop plastic waste ending up in landfill; and, as a result, point the way to the sea change that will end the demonisation of the plastic packaging and create a new circular economy that the entire country can be proud of.”
