Packaging Automation tray sealed pulp tray strawberries

Two British packaging companies have developed a new recyclable punnet for fruit and vegetables to help tackle plastic pollution.

Packaging Automation alongside Evesham Specialist Packaging designed the pulp board tray to help the food industry go green, in line with the recently launched UK Plastics Pact by charity Wrap.

Signatories of the pact include some of Britain’s biggest brands as well as almost all supermarkets, requiring them to phase out non-recyclable plastics by 2025.

The new biodegradable, recyclable and compostable plastic alternative trays are now on shelves in many UK grocery retail outlets containing strawberries, mushrooms, grapes and gooseberries.

Other natural examples of packaging that are successfully being sealed include soft fruit punnets made out of biodegradable plant based plastics such as PLA which is a material made from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane.