Certified compostable and oven-safe paper trays for ready meals

ecovio® PS 1606 by Confoil and BASF

The Australian food packaging manufacturer Confoil and BASF have jointly developed a certified compostable, microwave, and oven-safe paper tray for ready meals. The inside of the tray is coated with ecovio® PS 1606, a certified compostable biopolymer from BASF that has been specially developed for coating paper or cardboard food packaging.

Certified oven-safe paper trays

The trays are certified to Australian standard AS4736-2006 and approved for food contact in accordance with international requirements. They can be used for ready meals such as lasagne, curries, or stir-fries, which are available cold or frozen in supermarkets. They are also suitable for catering and as food packaging for delivery services and restaurants.

Extended recycling options for paper-based packaging

As they can be recycled organically, the trays offer extended recycling options for paper-based packaging. They are industrially compostable and can be collected together with organic waste in organic waste garbage cans. In this way, the new packaging solution supports the organic recycling of food waste and used food packaging, which means less food waste ends up in landfills or incinerators.

Compostable within four to six weeks

This avoids the associated greenhouse gas emissions. The currently available PET food trays are not reusable; mechanical recycling is often difficult and uneconomical. Composting tests have shown that under industrial composting conditions, Confoil trays break down into water, carbon dioxide and nutrient-rich compost within four to six weeks.