This new product supports the commitment announced last year by PET Sheet Europe. This association, bringing together Europe’s leading PET sheet producers, aims to guarantee that by 2025 PET products will have a mean recycled content of 70%.
Coexpan, well aware of the importance of high-quality PET sheet for thermoforming applications and the increasing scarcity of non-renewable resources, was keen to support the undertaking announced by PET Sheet Europe and the challenge was taken up by the company´s plant in Italy, Coexpan Montonate, one of the founder members of the PET Sheet Europe association. Following the success of this project, it is soon to be replicated by Coexpan Germany and other Coexpan subsidiaries.
The main difficulty lies in rPET packaging for food applications since the highest levels of food safety are required when post-consumer materials are put back into circulation as food use containers. CorePET, the new 100% rPET sheet specifically formulated for the thermoforming market, is manufactured using state-of-the-art technology and it meets all the legislative requirements, including EFSA approval. CorePET does not rely on a ‘functional’ virgin PET barrier for food contact approval. All the raw materials used are suitable for direct food contact without any barrier layer.
rPET sheets are readily available with different percentages of recycled content: 50%, 70% and 85%, with the possibility in this latter case of reaching up to 100% and producing sheets in different colours for a variety of applications that include packaging for cheese, fresh pasta, fruit, salads, cosmetics or blister packaging.
