Just four months after announcing its intention to come up with specific recycling guidelines for PET trays in Europe (see Plasteurope.com of 14.05.2014), Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE, Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu) has released its framework for both clear and coloured thermoforms. The design-for-recycling guidelines are set out with the goal that these PET trays will be treatable in future plastic recycling plants dedicated solely to this type of material.

PRE said that the co-design of the PET trays is the necessary first step to start developing recycling streams, adding that the 800,000 t/y waste matter must be collected and sorted as well. With that in mind, the European umbrella organisation is calling on players across the entire value chain to join forces to create a PET trays recycling platform similar to the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP; www.epbp.org).

e-Service:
PRE’s PET tray guidelines as a PDF file