Food packaging made with 75% recycled polystyrene

Eni's chemical company, Versalis, is expanding its range of “circular” products, made from recycled raw materials. The Versalis Revive portfolio will now include a new product for food packaging made with 75% domestic post-consumer polystyrene.

The product, referred to as Versalis Revive PS Air F - Series Forever, is the result of the existing collaboration with Forever Plast, a leading Italian company in the recycling of post-consumer products into high-quality raw materials, and has been developed as part of a collaborative project with various players in the polystyrene industry value chain: Corepla, ProFood and Unionplast. This collaboration has given rise to an innovative recyclable tray suitable for food and composed of recycled polystyrene developed by the companies that are members of Pro Food.

The tray consists of an inner layer containing Versalis Revive PS Air F - Series Forever and two outer layers made from virgin polystyrene. This structure, known as the A-B-A functional barrier, ensures food contact compliance. The functional barrier design and stringent testing were developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (IVV), a leading German applied research institute that works with industries to develop viable technologies for bringing innovative products to the market.

The Versalis Revive PS Air F - Series Forever is scheduled to be marketed over the next few weeks and is mainly aimed at the meat and fish packaging market.

The Versalis Revive range comprises products exclusively from mechanical recycling of post-consumer and plastics and those from the industry supply chain. In addition to Versalis Revive PS, other polymer-based products are available on the market: expandable polystyrene (Versalis Revive EPS) and polyethylene (Versalis Revive PE).