Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, a leader in sustainable chemical solutions, has partnered with AMB Spa, a prominent European provider of food and drink packaging solutions, to unveil a next-generation PET multilayer tray optimized for recycling. This innovation not only supports the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) but also accelerates the transition to true circularity in complex food packaging.
The collaboration has resulted in a unique tray design that integrates recycled PET flakes within the core while utilizing virgin food-grade PET for the outer layers. This structure meets essential performance criteria—such as food safety, optical clarity, and sealing—demanded by both brand owners and regulatory bodies, all while significantly increasing the proportion of recycled content. Importantly, the tray remains recyclable after use, fostering a material-to-material circular loop that keeps PET in high-value applications.
This initiative positions Europe at the forefront of sustainable packaging, offering retailers and brand owners a scalable drop-in solution that mitigates downcycling. Moreover, it aligns perfectly with the future recyclability and recycled-content mandates under the PPWR, including the ambitious goal of achieving an average of 30% recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030.
Transforming challenges into circular solutions
Multilayer trays are crucial for protecting food products, extending shelf life, and minimizing food waste. According to a 2024 case study, using PET trays can increase shelf life from 6 days to 15 days, thereby reducing average food waste from 47% to 15%.
While PET trays effectively enhance shelf life, the next challenge lies in ensuring that more of this valuable material remains in circulation. At present, around 30% of PET trays in Europe are collected for recycling. However, this rate is expected to increase as innovative technologies and strategic industry partnerships take effect. To fully exploit this potential, it is essential to develop effective recycling pathways for multilayer trays, thereby reducing waste and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
“This solution demonstrates that multilayer trays can meet circularity goals in practice, not just on paper,” said Paolo Cescutti, Chief Procurement Officer at AMB Spa. “It proves that innovation and collaboration can unlock new recycling pathways, even for the most complex packaging waste streams.”
“A scalable innovation like this enables the tray industry to maintain high performance while moving decisively toward Europe’s circular economy ambitions,” said Andy Motta, Business Director for Europe and Türkiye, CPET, at Indorama Ventures. “It reflects our commitment to solutions that strengthen recycling systems.”
Production of the new multilayer tray structure has commenced at Indorama Ventures’ Verdun Recycling facility in France. These innovative trays are currently being supplied to customers in the UK, with broader distribution across Europe underway.
This announcement builds upon the successful collaboration between Indorama Ventures and AMB Spa in 2023, which established the groundwork for advancing PET tray recyclability. Since then, the partnership has evolved from concept development to full-scale production of complex multilayer trays, enabling tray-to-tray recycling through a design-for-recycling approach, and delivering a fully circular solution for high-performance food and drink sustainable packaging.