Plastic Ingenuity Incorporates 80% PCR into Legacy Food Tray

Creminelli Fine Meats, a crafter of ready-to-eat charcuterie, turned to Plastic Ingenuity for a sustainability assessment of their packaging. Creminelli strives for packaging that reflects the values of their organization. Enhancing the sustainability of the thermoformed tray was seen as an opportunity for improvement, and a potential differentiator for consumers.

PI engineering determined the trays could be downgauged to reduce material usage without compromising performance.  Tray footprints were maintained to minimize disruptions to filling and packaging processes.

Comparing the tray structure to the APR design guide revealed the structure contains a barrier film that renders the package non-recyclable.  The barrier film is an integral component for performance by providing food preservation properties.  Reducing shelf-life by eliminating barrier properties is not an acceptable trade-off to improve the ability to recycle a package.  Preserving the food (and the valuable resources that went into growing it!) was top priority.

PI proposed the use of post-consumer recycled content in the tray to improve the circularity of the package and reduce inherent greenhouse gas emissions. 80% PCR was selected for implementation.