INTERVIEW: PETCORE highlights sorting gap as EU PPWR raises pressure on PET tray recycling

The European polyethylene terephthalate thermoformed packaging value chain faces persistent challenges, particularly sorting losses and value chain fragmentation, as the sector works to meet EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation targets for recycled content and food-grade compliance, according to Jose-Antonio Alarcon, technical support and development expert at PETCORE EUROPE.

"The reality of the situation of PET thermoforming is changing day by day," Alarcon said, adding that system performance still falls short of what will be required under the EU PPWR.

"A lot of trays are collected, but not all of it is being sorted or recycled," he said.

Alarcon spoke with Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, ahead of PETCORE's annual Thermoforms Conference in Valencia on June 18-19.

The annual event in Europe will gather key actors in the PET thermoformed packaging value chain, including raw materials suppliers, converters, EPRs, recyclers, technology providers, research centers, laboratories, and end users, as well as EU policymakers.

Shifting market trends

The European PET thermoforming market is about 1.2 million metric tons, with at least 500,000 mt of trays composed of PET flakes, making trays a significant outlet for recycled material. Despite that scale, only about 50,000 mt is recycled back to trays from roughly 300,000 mt collected each year, leaving large volumes stranded after collection, Alarcon said.

PETCORE's Thermoforms Working Group is focused on increasing the number of trays placed on the market that are collected and sorted, with Extended Producer Responsibility frameworks seen as a key lever.

PET tray recycling lags PET bottle recycling by 15 to 20 years, with sorting lines often treating trays as lower-value material because they are more brittle and can reduce bale yield. About 50% of trays are multilayer and may contain other polymers, such as polyethylene, which are treated as contaminants and can reduce the value of the tray feedstock.

Closing the gap to PPWR recycled-content requirements will require changes across the value chain, including improved sorting of mono- and multilayer trays and increased recycling capacity. Companies, including Sulayr, Faerch, Indorama, ILPA, ALPLA and others, are working on tray-to-tray pathways. For food-grade applications, decontamination and traceability will be critical to support compliance and market confidence.

PPWR readiness, industry direction

For PET thermoformed trays, PPWR compliance requires multiple conditions to work in parallel, from collection and sorting through to food-grade recycling and verified recycled content. The gap between ambition and current reality remains "huge," particularly on whether enough trays can be captured and separated at scale to support circularity.

PETCORE is prioritizing design for recycling and pushing to boost collection and sorting, and progress will depend on accelerating systems design, technology deployment and regulatory alignment. Food contact requirements add another layer, with Alarcon pointing to the importance of compliance with Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 and the role of both Suitable Technologies and Novel technologies as functional barrier approaches.

He also highlighted constraints on achieving higher recycled content. The first is economics, challenging the "economic attractiveness" of recycling PET thermoforms, which restricts investment and demand. The second is multilayer complexity, which makes sorting and recycling more difficult. The third is the technology burden, with trays requiring more detailed sorting than bottles, including separating monolayer and multilayer streams to reduce cross-contamination.

Stronger engagement from brands and retailers will be critical, but the tray value chain is more fragmented than the bottles one, requiring broader cooperation. Near-term priorities include commitments to standardizing design for recycling and greater engagement from packaging producers in tray-to-tray efforts.

Future of PET thermoforms

PET thermoforms are likely to remain a core packaging format as the industry balances packaging sustainability with food preservation and food-waste reduction, Alarcon said. PET's recyclability for food-contact applications is a key advantage, though it also entails stricter compliance requirements, particularly under Regulation (EU) 2022/1616.

Innovation is increasingly focused on multilayer trays. A limited number of companies can currently recycle multilayer trays, but interest is rising, including delamination approaches and chemical recycling routes. Alarcon said depolymerization pathways are attracting increasing attention compared with pyrolysis, as companies seek routes that can support high-quality outputs.