Modus Operandi and Testing Procedures

Modus Operandi

The main objectives of the Petcore Europe PET Tray Recyclability/Circularity Evaluation Platform EPTP) are:

To evaluate the Recyclability/Circularity of PET thermoformed container technologies / products;
To allow new PET thermoformed container innovations, while at the same time minimizing economic and environmental consequences for the European PET recycling industry;
To promote the Recyclability/Circularity of PET thermoformed containers on the market by:
- Proposing European harmonized guidelines for PET tray (and other thermoformed containers) Recyclability/Circularity that will be accepted across the whole value chain.
- Encouraging industry to test new PET tray concepts and/or materials before market launch according to the harmonized guidelines.
- Giving advice and recommendations to the different stakeholders.
- Sharing information and knowledge across the whole value chain considering competition law rules and respecting confidential information.

Petcore Europe has a resolute policy of complying with competition law in all its activities.

For more detailed information you may read the attached Modus Operandi file

Testing Procedures

Standard Laboratory Processing Practices have been stablished (TCEP-P-00) to assess the compatibility of a new or existing packaging with existing commercial PET recycling processes.

The procedures should be applied by an independent approved laboratory. An evaluation report with detailed results has to be submitted to the Petcore Europe Technical Committee for final assessment.

Testing procedures can be found in the links below.

Accredited laboratories

The specific test program must be executed by independent testing laboratories that have been approved by TCEP. These laboratories provide expertise on specific materials and perform testing using modern test equipment according to the TCEP protocol and evaluation requirements. To find out which testing laboratories have been accredited by TCEP click here.

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