Better recycling properties for Stora Enso’s low-carbon Trayforma range for ready meals

The new Trayforma PET34 material continues to offer core properties such as food protection and heat resistance but has a significantly reduced amount of fossil-based barrier materials. When heating food in conventional oven, board materials need a PET coating to provide heat resistance and protect food. Meeting the threshold of 10% PET plastic will be an important step in producing trays made of Trayforma a better fit for fiber-based packaging recycling streams, and for achieving recyclable labelling in markets such as the UK.

“We believe Trayforma products will have many future applications because they are low-carbon and help brand owners reduce their carbon footprint and use of fossil-materials, offering these benefits to consumers. Thanks to its renewable origin in wood fiber and its optimised barrier options, Trayforma range offers the right performance and several alternatives for the ready meals category, now also better fit for recycling,” says Tuomas Puonti, VP, Head of Business Line LPB Fresh & FSB from Stora Enso.

Earlier this year, Stora Enso introduced Trayforma PP – a material suitable for heating in microwave ovens -- based on material containing up to 95% of wood fibers. For conventional ovens where PET coating is still needed, the reduction to 34gsm is a significant improvement and can still withstand temperatures up to 220 °C.

Trayforma is now also available in 420gsm for producing larger and sturdier microwave and conventional oven trays​. In addition to Trayforma PET, Trayforma Bio and Trayforma PP will also be available in a 420gsm option.

Trayforma is a renewable wood fiber-based packaging solution for frozen and chilled food and safe for oven and microwave heating when functional barriers are used. Trayforma guarantees food safety and is highly formable and convertible.