Monterey Mushrooms is cultivating more than a meal; they're nurturing a sustainable future. This Spring the company will be making a significant change to enhance the recyclability of its mushroom packaging by incorporating near-infrared (NIR) sortable material in their recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) thermoformed tills.
The company's rPET tills are produced using 100% post-consumer recycled materials sourced entirely from North America. This means the material used in the tills has already had a prior life, thus reducing plastic waste in landfills and contributing to a circular economy. The use of NIR sortable colorant ensures that the packaging can be properly sorted and recycled into new products.
PET and PETE are both abbreviations for the plastic: Polyethylene Terephthalate. This is the most commonly used plastic in consumer use, with the recycling number 1 as its symbol. Comparing PET/PETE with rPET, the difference is the r, which stands for recycled. The r notes that this material is a recycled version of PET/PETE plastic.
By using rPET, the mushroom industry can give multiple lives to mixed-color recycled PET materials. rPET with NIR sortable colorant can potentially provide long-term cost advantages compared to other colors, including clear rPET.
