Faerch introduces CPET trays for chilled ready meals with 40% tray rPET content

Faerch has unveiled a new range of CPET trays for chilled ready meals in the UK and Ireland, featuring a minimum of 40% Tray rPET sourced from post-consumer and circular content. The product will be introduced on January 1, 2025.

The newly enhanced CPET trays will retain their functional properties while integrating recycled content. This supports a closed-loop system by ensuring post-consumer materials are reused in food packaging, reducing waste and the reliance on virgin fossil fuels. 

Lars Gade Hansen, Faerch Group’s CEO, says: “We are taking it a step further by guaranteeing a minimum of 40% Tray rPET in our chilled ready meal trays, taking another step toward circularity. Just like bottles must be transformed into new bottles, trays must be recycled into new trays without ‘stealing’ and downgrading material from other waste streams.” 

Building on its launch of Evolve by Faerch in 2019, which offered up to 70% post-consumer recycled content using mixed-color “jazz” bottle flakes, the company is delivering environmental benefits. 

A recent life cycle assessment commissioned by Faerch revealed that Tray rPET has a 57% lower carbon footprint compared to virgin PET and a 35% saving compared to clear bottle rPET. 

By incorporating curbside-collected materials, the company aims to reduce emissions and keep packaging out of landfills and incineration. Faerch’s recent expansion of its Cirrec recycling facility in the Netherlands, which opened earlier this year, strengthens its capacity to achieve its sustainability targets.