Moy Park has added Klöckner Pentaplast’s kp Elite, a modified atmosphere packaging tray made entirely of rPET, to its packaging range – aiming to reduce its plastic consumption by 50 tonnes and transition completely into mono-material solutions.
Re-released last November, kp Elite is reported to be the only lightweight, mono-material, modified atmosphere packaging tray to be certified as 100% recyclable by RecyClass. It is designed to offer strength, maintain a product’s shelf life, and cut down on food waste while also being recyclable at kerbside.
The rPET tray is envisioned as an end-to-end circular solution and seeks to unlock greater processing and packing efficiency. Apparently, it forms a hermetic seal in less time and at lower temperatures – not only cutting down on the reworking and repacking required, but minimizing leaks and shielding the product from contaminants.
Klöckner Pentaplast asserts that, when combined with other kp packaging components, kp Elite can become a fully recyclable solution that integrates seamlessly into existing PET recycling processes. Moy Park has adopted a kp lidding film containing 30% post-consumer recycled plastic in an effort to lower its reliance on virgin plastic.
Matt Harris, head of Packaging at Moy Park, commented: “Sustainable packaging has an important role to play in containing, protecting and preserving our food, and kp Elite is an ideal solution; not only is it 100% recyclable, it’s created using recycled content and it also delivers a plastic weight reduction.
“We’re absolutely delighted that we’re set to achieve our transition to mono-material plastic trays well ahead of the 2025 deadline set by On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL). This means that our poultry trays can continue to be recycled at kerbside.”
Moy Park’s Remove, Reduce, Recycle and Research strategy seeks to cut 5% of its overall packaging year-on-year while simultaneously increasing its overall percentage of recyclable packaging by 5%. The company announced earlier this year that it had reduced its overall packaging by 10% in the past 12 months.
These efforts contribute to Moy Park’s goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
In other modified atmosphere packaging news, StePacPPC is cracking down on both food waste and costs by extending the notoriously short shelf life of mushroom products – adapting its MAP films to suit various whole, sliced, and fresh variants.
Two modified atmosphere packaging solutions were also recognized in the pre-commercialized Active and Intelligent category at the Sustainability Awards 2023; the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS)’s clamshell with modified humidity, and Wageningen University & Research and Istanbul Technical University’s modified atmosphere packaging for fresh produce.
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