Sustainability has moved from a nice-to-have to a buying requirement. EU and UK retailers, in particular, now set targets for recycled content and recyclability, and importers pass those rules straight down the supply chain. The good news: you can meet them without sacrificing the clarity and protection your fruit needs. Here are the main options.
Recycled rPET: the pragmatic default
Recycled PET (rPET) is made from reprocessed plastic — often used bottles and trays. It offers clarity and strength close to virgin PET, carries a much better carbon and recycled-content story, and is widely accepted by retailers pushing for recycled material. For most fruit packs, moving from virgin PET to rPET is the single easiest win.
Recyclable by design
A pack is only as recyclable as the systems that collect it. "Recyclable by design" means using a single, widely-recycled polymer, avoiding hard-to-separate multi-material laminates, and keeping labels and films compatible. Mono-material PET or rPET trays tick these boxes in most markets.
Watch out: a "recyclable" claim can fail if your lid film or label is a different plastic to the tray. Design the whole pack — tray, lid and label — as one recyclable system.
Degradable and compostable options
For brands leading on sustainability, degradable and compostable materials break down under the right conditions rather than persisting as plastic. They suit specific markets and messaging, though you should match the certification to where the pack will actually be disposed of.
Moulded pulp and foam alternatives
Not every part of the pack has to be plastic. Moulded pulp trays and paper-based nets can replace some cushioning components, and where foam is needed for shock absorption, right-sizing it reduces material use.
Reduce food waste — the biggest footprint of all
It is easy to forget that the largest environmental cost in the fruit supply chain is usually the fruit that spoils, not the pack around it. Protective packaging that extends shelf life and prevents damage keeps more fruit sellable — often a bigger sustainability win than shaving grams off the tray.
Switching without the risk
The safe way to change material is to keep your proven structure and swap the substrate, then validate with samples down your real lane before committing. We can quote your existing designs in rPET, PP or degradable material and send samples so you can test clarity, strength and cold-chain performance first. Tell us your target market's rules and we will match the material.
