Trays, tubs, pots and closures in direct food contact. PP, PET and PS dominate; clarified PP and APET for visual presentation.
Polypropylene (PP), PET and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) cover the vast majority of rigid food packaging on European supermarket shelves. PP handles tubs, lids and ovenable trays; PET (in its APET sheet form) is thermoformed into fresh produce trays and clear punnets; HIPS is used for opaque yogurt and dessert pots. All three meet EU 10/2011 food contact requirements with grade-specific Declarations of Compliance.
Polypropylene is the standard material for plastic food packaging that contacts hot or microwaved food — it stays dimensionally stable up to 100–110 °C continuously and tolerates microwave use. PET deforms above 70 °C unless it has been crystallised (CPET), in which case it withstands oven temperatures up to 220 °C. HIPS and APET are for cold and ambient applications only.
PET trays and PP tubs are mechanically recyclable in well-functioning collection systems. Recyclability is highest when the format is monomaterial — multi-layer barriers, dark pigmentation and bonded labels all reduce recyclate value. Under PPWR's design-for-recycling rules from 2030, packaging that contaminates major recycling streams (notably PVC mixed into PET sortation) faces phase-out.
APET (amorphous PET) sheet thermoformed into trays is the European market standard. It offers the optical clarity needed for visual merchandising in chilled cabinets, accepts 30–50% recycled content (rPET), and seals well to lidding films for modified atmosphere packaging. Monomaterial PP trays are growing in share where PP/PP recyclability is the priority under PPWR.