Materials guide
PET and rPET: the material guide
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the clear, strong plastic behind most punnets, clamshells and trays, and the most widely recycled packaging plastic. rPET is the same material made from recycled PET. This guide covers the grades, recycled content, food safety, recycling and how to specify sheet.
- Resin code1
- AVI recycled content30% to 100%
- APET sheet200–1,200 microns
The PET family
| Grade | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| APET | Clear amorphous PET | Punnets, trays, blisters |
| PETG | Glycol-modified PET, tougher | Deep or detailed shapes, medical |
| GAG PET | PETG skins on an APET core | Forming and sealing |
| rPET | Recycled PET | All of the above, with recycled content |
| CPET | Crystallised, heat-resistant PET | Ovenable ready-meal trays |
Recycled content you can prove
A recycled-content claim needs evidence: EN 15343 traceability certification and independent verification of the percentage. Plastic taxes such as the UK's 30% threshold depend on it.
Food contact
Recycled PET for food comes from a decontamination process approved for food use. AVI decontaminates its food-grade rPET with Starlinger deCON technology and documents each grade for the food and market.
Specifying sheet
Give the grade, recycled content, thickness in microns, width, roll weight and the application. Thickness depends on the pack's size, draw depth and load; your thermoforming tooling sets the final gauge.
AVI products
- PET Sheet Manufacturer — APET, rPET, PETG & MorePET sheet manufacturer in India: APET, rPET (30–100% recycled), PETG, GAGPET, ESD and laminated PET sheets and rolls...
- rPET Sheets for Thermoforming, Printing & PackagingrPET sheet from AVI Global Plast — 30% to 100% recycled content, 150–1,300 micron range, EN 15343 certified for...
- Starlinger deCON rPET Sheets for Food PackagingAVI's 100% post-consumer rPET sheet, mono-layer, decontaminated on Starlinger deCON technology for food contact. EN...
- Ocean-Bound Plastic rPET Sheets for PackagingAVI's rPET sheet, sourced in part from ocean-bound plastic waste, for brands building circularity claims. EN 15343...
Terms in this guide
- APET
- Amorphous PET: clear, non-crystalline PET sheet, the standard material for thermoformed punnets, trays and blisters.
- CPET
- Crystallised PET, made heat-resistant for ready-meal trays that go into ovens and microwaves. Clear PET and rPET are not CPET.
- EN 15343
- The European standard for traceability and recycled content of recycled plastics. Certification proves a recycled-content percentage with an audit trail.
- GAG PET
- Co-extruded PET sheet with thin PETG layers on an APET core, which forms and seals well.
- Intrinsic viscosity (IV)
- A measure of the length of PET's molecular chains. It affects strength and how the sheet processes, so it is controlled during extrusion.
- Micron
- One thousandth of a millimetre, the unit for sheet and film thickness: 300 microns is 0.3 mm.
- OBP (ocean-bound plastic)
- Plastic waste collected near coasts and waterways before it reaches the sea.
- PCR (post-consumer recycled)
- Recycled material from products consumers have used, such as bottles. Pre-consumer recycled material comes from factory scrap.
- PET
- Polyethylene terephthalate, resin code 1: a clear, strong, widely recycled plastic for bottles, punnets, trays and sheet.
- PETG
- PET modified with glycol: tougher and easier to form into deep or detailed shapes.
- Resin identification code
- The number in the recycling triangle that names the plastic: 1 PET, 2 HDPE, 3 PVC, 4 LDPE, 5 PP, 6 PS, 7 other. It does not by itself show a plastic is food grade.
- rPET
- Recycled PET: used PET collected, cleaned and made into new material. The same polymer as virgin PET.
- Starlinger deCON
- A decontamination process that cleans PET flakes to a level suitable for food contact. AVI uses it for its food-grade rPET.