RETRAY is the Ecosense Foundation’s certification scheme to consolidate a circular economy model in the value chain of thermoformed PET packaging by quantifying the content of recycled material, from the tray-to-tray circuit and other sources, in accordance with the EN 15343 standard and the verification of its recyclability according to the guidelines published by the foundation.
Evertis, present in the polymer industry since 1959, is specialized in the production of monolayer and multilayer PET film for food packaging applications. The purpose of the company has always been to offer packaging solutions that close the loop and contribute to a circular economy in the PET thermoform sector. Their sustainability strategy integrates the UN Sustainable Development Goals and boosts the product innovation in terms of circularity, recyclability and eco-design, as is the case of their latest product launches, Ecobar™ and Ecoseal™.
EVERTIS's commitment to the circular tray-to-tray model promoted by the foundation dates back to 2019, when the company obtained the ECOSENSE certification for the first time. Under the RETRAY scheme, heir to ECOSENSE, a Certification Entity has audited the processes of film manufacturing, verifying compliance with the following requirements of the RETRAY Procedure for sheet producers:
• The traceability of the recycled raw materials involved in the manufacture of the film and the management of plastic waste resulting from the production process.
• The percentage content of recycled plastic incorporated into the film manufactured over a certain period of analysis, in accordance with the EN 15343 standard.
Evertis has the objective of increasing the recycling content incorporated in their products and reaching an average of 50% by 2023.
The ultimate purpose of RETRAY is to increase the volume of waste from the tray-to-tray circuit to be recycled. The consolidation of the circular model requires quadrupling the recycling facilities, improving collection and sorting and achieving a better quality of the recycled product; Investment, innovation and collaboration in the value chain are key to make this achievable by 2030. Thanks to companies such as EVERTIS, the PET thermoform sector is closer to meeting the ambitious targets set by the European Commission on packaging and packaging waste.