What is rPET
Recycled PET (rPET) is PET plastic that's been collected, cleaned and reprocessed back into resin, rather than drawn from virgin feedstock. For packaging manufacturers, the appeal is that it behaves like standard PET on the extrusion and thermoforming line — the same clarity, the same strength — while cutting the amount of new plastic a pack requires. AVI Global Plast extrudes rPET in-house at its Indian facility, rather than sourcing pre-converted rPET sheet from a third party.
Food-contact compliance
Recycled content only belongs in food packaging if it's been verified safe for that use — rPET intended for direct food contact needs certification behind it, not just a recycled-content claim on a spec sheet. AVI's rPET carries EN 15343 recycled-content traceability certification and Intertek-verified recycled content (grade-specific), and the company has also introduced 100% recycled PET punnets rated safe for food contact. AVI has previously referenced GRS and ISCC PLUS certification in its own announcements, but these are not confirmed current in AVI's internal records — talk to AVI's team for status. For a customer sourcing packaging for fresh produce or food, current, verifiable certification is the difference between a sustainability claim and a proven one.
Where rPET fits
rPET works well wherever a customer wants a lower-recycled-content story without changing the pack's performance — punnets and clamshells for berries and stone fruit, trays for cut produce, and film for lidding and lamination. It's not the right fit for every application: some barrier-critical or ultra-high-clarity uses still call for virgin PET or a different structure entirely. AVI's team can advise on where recycled content works for a specific format and where it doesn't.
