From PMD Bag to Store Shelf

Supermarket chain Colruyt has launched the first meat trays made with recycled polystyrene derived from chemical recycling. The plastic packaging material made from yoghurt pots and foam trays collected from PMD bags is processed at Indaver’s new Plastics2Chemicals facility in Antwerp. Colruyt is using a total of around 66 tonnes per year of this recycled polystyrene in the dark grey foam trays used for its fresh meat products. The new packaging has been on store shelves since October 2025. Ludo Vanderelst, Responsible Buyer at Colruyt Group: ‘In 2023, Colruyt was the first chain to stop using black foam trays, so that empty packaging placed in the PMD bags could be correctly sorted and therefore recycled. Today, we’re the first to reuse recycled material from foam trays and yoghurt pots in our packaging. This means we need fewer and fewer new raw materials for our packaging, which reduces our environmental impact.’

Foam trays are made from XPS, or extruded polystyrene. This is the same plastic family as, for example, yoghurt pots made from PS or polystyrene. Although this type of packaging has been sorted and recycled from PMD bags for some time, recycled material from mechanical recycling* cannot be used to make new food packaging if it comes into direct contact with food. The recycling technology at Indaver’s new Plastics2Chemicals plant in the Port of Antwerp changes this. Since October, Colruyt’s dark grey foam trays contain 10% recycled material, representing 66 tonnes of recycled XPS annually. ‘The trays look exactly the same, and are just as safe for your meat. In addition, they can be perfectly recycled all over again via the PMD bag.’

Food-safe and environmentally friendly

Inge Baertsoen, communications manager at Indaver: ‘With Plastics2Chemicals, we’re taking the next step in plastic recycling. We use advanced chemical recycling to convert polystyrene packaging into recycled styrene. This is the raw material for making new packaging and has the same properties as virgin material, meaning that the styrene is safe to use in food packaging. The factory has only really been running since the summer, which makes this collaboration extra special.’

Plastics2Chemicals has a total capacity of 26,000 tonnes. In 2025 the factory processed at industrial scale polystyrene and extruded polystyrene sorted from the PMD bag. PS packaging waste is converted into base chemicals through thermal depolymerisation (heat) and distillation (purification). The final product has a very high purity, similar to virgin material, and is therefore a high-quality alternative to fossil-fuel based raw materials. In 2026, Plastics2Chemicals will also start recycling packaging film from PMD bags, such as snack packaging and outer packaging. A total of 75 million euros has been invested in the new facility.

Sorting, recycling and producing in our own country

Europe is requiring at least 10% of packaging – depending on the plastic type – to be recycled material by 2030**. This isn’t always straightforward for food packaging, as only recycled PET from mechanical recycling is permitted for packaging food or drinks. Colruyt and Plastics2Chemicals are closing the recycling gap by supplying virgin-quality packaging materials from post-consumer plastic waste.

Mik Van Gaever, COO at Fost Plus: ‘Recycling domestically and thus producing secondary raw materials makes us less dependent on new materials imported, often from outside Europe. We are reducing the ecological footprint of packaging and are creating sustainable, long-term employment in our own country. Indaver is one of six partners that sorts the contents of PMD bags. The fact that they are now also recycling this difficult material here proves that systems thinking works.’

In figures

Closing the foam tray chain in eight steps

Read the 2023 announcement about how Colruyt Group, by replacing 'carbon black' dye from its foam trays, changed the entire market. This means that foam trays can now be sorted from the PMD bags and recycled in the new Plastics2Chemicals plant thanks to the contract that Fost Plus signed with Indaver.

* Colruyt’s light brown foam trays also contain recycled material from mechanical recycling, because of which a thin barrier layer needs to be placed between packaging and product. Thanks to Plastics2Chemicals’ technology, this is not necessary.

** Share of recycled material by 2030:

^{About Colruyt Group}

^{Colruyt Group is a retail group operating in the Food, Health & Well-being, Non-food and Energy areas of expertise, primarily in Belgium but also in other countries such as France and Luxembourg. In the Food area there are Colruyt Laagste Prijzen, Okay, Comarkt, Bio-Planet, Cru and the affiliated stores Spar Colruyt Group and Delitraiteur. In France, in addition to Colruyt stores and DATS 24 filling stations, there are also the affiliated stores Coccinelle, Coccimarket, Panier Sympa, Épi Service and VivÉco. There are over 750 group-owned stores and over 1,000 affiliated stores. Solucious, Culinoa, Valfrais and Délidis deliver food service and retail products to professional customers in Belgium (hospitals, SMEs, the hospitality sector, etc.). Foodbag delivers meal kits in Belgium. Colruyt Group Fine Food consists of industrial production departments. The Health & Well-being area of expertise consists primarily of Jims gyms in Belgium and Luxembourg and Newpharma, Colruyt Group’s Belgian online pharmacy, which operates in various countries, including Belgium, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Romania. The Non-food area of expertise comprises group-owned stores in the Zeb, PointCarré, The Fashion Store and Bike Republic chains (primarily in Belgium), as well as affiliated PointCarré stores. Colruyt Group’s activities also include printing and document management solutions (Symeta Hybrid) and strategic consulting, business architecture and program management (Myreas). In addition, Colruyt Group holds stakes in other groups, including Virya Energy (to which DATS 24 has belonged since June 2023), Dreamland and BON. The group employs more than 33,000 employees and generated nearly EUR 11.0 billion of revenue in 2024/25. Colruyt NV/SA is listed on Euronext Brussels (COLR) under ISIN code BE0974256852.}

^{About Indaver}

^{Indaver is a leading European player in sustainable waste and materials management, with operations in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom. For over 35 years, it has been creating value from waste by recovering essential materials and clean energy from industrial and household waste streams. At the same time, the company ensures that harmful substances are safely removed from the cycle to protect people and the environment. In this way, it is contributing to a cleaner, more resilient society and supporting the transition to a circular economy.}

^{In 2024, Indaver processed 5.6 million tonnes of waste and achieved a turnover of EUR 945 million with more than 2,300 employees. The dedication and expertise of these enthusiastic employees are essential to the success of its projects and services.}

^{About Fost Plus}

^{Since 1994, Fost Plus has been accelerating the transition to sustainable packaging management. Citizens are at the heart of an approach designed to prevent raw materials from ending up as waste. For instance, Fost Plus is setting up efficient structures to sort correctly any time, anywhere, improving packaging design with around 5,000 members with a view to better recycling, and rethinking the way we all handle packaging and other materials.}

^{Fost Plus works closely with citizens, businesses, governments and experts to collect and recycle the household packaging put on the market by its members. In this way, the organisation fulfils its members’ Extended Producer Responsibility. Sixty dedicated colleagues are committed to influencing behaviour so as to minimise the environmental impact of our ways of producing and consuming. By building sustainable material chains, Fost Plus contributes to a better society and a cleaner environment for all.}