February 23, 2026 14:32

A food-grade PET tray containing 30% recycled material, aligned with the forthcoming requirements of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), has been developed through a partnership between Italian company AMB and Thailand-based PET and packaging producer Indorama Ventures.

The solution developed by the two companies features a multilayer yet mono-material structure, with recycled PET positioned in the core layer and encapsulated between two layers of virgin resin.

This configuration meets the food safety, optical clarity and heat-sealability requirements of major brands, while increasing recycled content. The tray also remains recyclable after use, supporting a closed-loop “tray-to-tray” system that keeps PET in high-value applications.

The solution complies with the future recyclability and recycled-content criteria set out in the PPWR, including the target of achieving an average of 30% rPET in packaging by 2030.

“We have shown that multilayer trays can achieve circularity goals in practice, not just on paper,” commented Paolo Cescutti, Chief Procurement Officer at AMB. “It also confirms 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,” added Andy Motta, Business Director for Europe and Türkiye, CPET, at Indorama Ventures (pictured).

Production of the new multilayer tray structure is under way at Indorama’s recycling facility in Verdun, France. At present, trays are being supplied to customers in the UK, with sales expected to expand across the rest of Europe.

The collaboration between Indorama Ventures and AMB began in 2023. Over the past three years, it has progressed from concept development to large-scale production of complex multilayer trays, enabling “tray-to-tray” recycling through a design-for-recycling approach.

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