Klöckner Pentaplast urges closed loop for food packaging

Klöckner Pentaplast (kp) has celebrated the second anniversary of its Tray2Tray initiative by urging other companies to adopt a closed loop circular economy for plastic packaging.

The Tray2Tray program involves recycling plastic food packaging such as pots, tubs and trays into usable flakes that can be processed into further food containers in the future, thus creating a closed cycle for food packaging. The initiative recovers and separates these specific containers as they are harder to recycle than beverage bottles.

kp aims to produce its packaging using at least 30% recycled material by 2025 and is working to institute the Tray2Tray program across its sites around the world. Other companies, retailers and customers are being welcomed by kp to utilise similar systems of circular plastic economies in order to increase the amount of recycled plastic in use and reduce virgin plastics.

“For several years, we’ve been driving multiple work streams globally, collaborating with the entire value chain, including recyclers, expert partners, governments and other stakeholders, to establish new ways to collect and process separate streams of rPET tray flake,” said Adam Barnett, President Food Packaging, Klöckner Pentaplast.

“Our ultimate aim is to help build the new infrastructures and incentives to collect, sort and recycle, ensuring wherever we operate we will enable full tray-to-tray circularity. Now we call upon our customers, the retailers and extend this to the industry, pledging to help us create further demand for tray-to-tray material inclusion in their products.”

kp was recognised with two awards for the Tray2Tray program, receiving the Sustainable Supplier of the Year at the Footprint Awards and Best Food Packaging in the Liderpack Awards.