CumaPET top layer for improved recyclability and sealability
The European Plastics Strategy mandates that all plastic packaging in the European market are 100% recyclable by 2030, which makes recycling-friendly design necessary. Increase the recyclability of your packaging with our CumaPET grades instead of a PE top layer.
The most commonly used packaging in the meat industry consists of different polymers combined in a multilayer structure, for example PET and PE. This combination of materials is difficult to recycle, thus often resulting in the packaging becoming waste, instead of being recycled.
Replacing the PE top layer
For fresh meat and other perishable goods the shelf-life can be increased tremendously by applying a modified atmosphere during packaging. Aside from the barrier properties of the tray material, the performance of the seal between the tray and the lid is critical. Juice leakage on the tray’s edges is unavoidable, especially when packaging fresh meat. Due to the composition of meat juice, a combination of high pressure, heat and time needs to be applied to obtain a gas tight seal. Under these circumstances, the physical structure of normal APET will change (crystallization), resulting in a poor quality seal. To obtain a gas tight seal, many producers apply a PE coextrusion layer to their APET tray. However, the poor recyclability of PE layers is a major sustainability concern.
Design for recycling: CumaPET top layer
To address these challenges, DuFor has developed several CumaPET grades, which significantly improve sealability compared to standard PET grades. When an APET sheet, with a top layer made of a CumaPET sealing grade, is re-extruded, the resulting product achieves the same clarity and quality as standard APET.
CumaPET sealing grades have a lower melting point and lower glass transition temperature, which widens the processing window for sealing drastically. Additionally, the packaging made with these CumaPET grades is fully recyclable, as is the trimming waste.
rPET main layer
When rPET is used for the main layer, the IV is often somewhat lower, resulting in a higher crystallization rate. When the trimming waste is recycled back into the main layer, our CumaPET material reduces the crystallization rate and thus improves the clarity and deep-drawing behavior of the main layer.
There are many more possibilities to increase the recyclability of your packaging with our other CumaPET types.