PET(1) Meat Trays Captured In Circular Economy - Recycling Week 16-22 Oct

 
 

It’s Recycling Week, and the retail meat sector has a great story to share when it comes to recycling clear PET (1) meat trays.

Pact Packaging has taken the lead on creating a circular economy through their innovative packaging, reuse and recycle solutions.

Pact Packaging’s Albany site in Auckland has a world-class decontamination line called the EREMA. But what does EREMA do and why is it exciting? For the non-technical amongst us, it works like this:

  • Your kerbside PET(1) recyclables are collected and taken to your local council’s recycling facilities where they are sorted and baled.

  • The bales of sorted PET(1) trays and bottles go to a facility where a process of flaking and washing takes place. Essentially chopping the PET(1) into small bits and washing the sticky labels off.

  • The rPET flake is then sent to Pact Packaging in Albany where it is put through the EREMA, a combination of vacuum + heat + time processes to remove and extract volatiles (aka nasties) to make it into a 100% food-grade rPET material.

  • The next step in the machine is to make this into sheets ready to become another new tray for our protein products.

The EREMA can process a serious amount of rPET flake. This flake comes from people consuming amazing meat products packed on Pact Packaging PET(1) meat trays and then recycling them.

Not only does the rPET flake come from meat trays but also from soft drink bottles, trays, punnets and other products that are made from PET (1).

That means Pact Packaging can make a lot of new packaging made from a locally circular product.

And the more rPET flake is made, the more Pact Packaging can recycle and make more new products—the perfect circular solution for PET(1) packaging!

So, remind your customers to rinse, tap and recycle their meat trays!

To see the process in action, check out this story Seven Sharp did with Keith Sinton, General Manager Sales at Pact Packaging.

To find out more about Pact Packaging’s Recycling Solutions CLICK HERE

The impressive decontamination line EREMA at the Pact Packaging Albany site.

rPET(1) tray in action keeping our meat fresh and food grade safe.

 
 
 
 
Michelle Hopson