The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Brussels / Belgium; www.efsa.europa.eu) has recently certified a food container recycling process developed by Dutch reusable plastic packaging producer Schoeller Allibert (Zwolle; www.schoellerallibert.com). The Dutch company says it is one of the first returnable transit packaging (RTP) producers to gain EFSA approval for its new technology, which includes the recycling and remoulding processes at its production facilities in Murcia / Spain, Monheim / Germany and at home in Hardenberg.

Provided they have been used in a closed or controlled loop distribution system, European grocery retailers can return damaged or old food-grade HDPE and PP crates to any of the three locations where they will then be recycled into new containers for food contact.

At each of the sites, the containers are inspected before being ground into flakes, which are washed and dried and then transferred to an injection moulding area. During the injection moulding process, the HDPE or PP flakes are heated to temperatures of up to 250ºC, which removes the risk of microbiological contamination as any remaining particles cannot survive at these temperatures and no additional chemicals are used during the process to ensure a hygienic end product.

At this point, they begin a new life as food-contact approved crates and containers, allowing retailers to replace inefficient legacy fleets with new RTP containers, creating a sustainable packaging cycle all within a matter of weeks, explained Ludo Gielen, chief marketing and innovation officer at the company.

He added that the carbon footprint of RTP is initially much lower than disposable packaging and recycling RTP reduces it even further. In addition to the environmental benefits, recycled containers also cut the capital cost to the retailer. The company says the new recycled food crates are fully compliant with Article 4 of the EU Regulation 282/2008, with Gielen adding that, “With the EFSA approval, we are now able to offer products which enable grocery retailers to meet both sustainability targets and strict food safety and hygiene standards.”