New fibre-based ready meal trays from Huhtamaki to replace black plastic

Huhtamaki has released new fibre-based ready meal trays in collaboration with Waitrose & Partners, Saladworks and Södra.

The trays, called Fresh, are suitable for both microwave and regular ovens, and can also be recycled and home composted.

Nikki Grainge, Packaging Development Manager from Waitrose & Partners, said: “We have made a commitment to move out of black plastic by the end of 2019. We have been testing the new trays since May 2018 and have received very positive feedback from our customers.”

“Now, with the current launch on our Italian range moving to the new tray, we’ll be able to move nearly nine million meals out of black plastic.”

Steve Davey, Project Manager at Huhtamaki, said: “The project started already in 2016 with the aim to find alternative food packaging for trays made from black plastic, most often CPET. The reason to avoid this material is not only its fossil origin but also because it is problematic to recycle due to the detection systems used in end-of-life material separation.”

“Huhtamaki has extensive knowledge in the moulded fibre technology which is used to manufacture the trays for Waitrose. Together with the team, we were able to test alternatives and find the right solution all the way from pulp to the retail shelves.”