rPS – The road to success
Recycled polystyrene (rPS) makes a significant contribution to helping the food industry achieve its sustainability goals while meeting legal requirements. In Europe, approximately 800,000 metric tonnes of polystyrene are produced annually as a raw material, of which a significant portion is used in the production of food packaging. This means that the potential for recycling is equally high.
Fernholz packaging has built a network of reliable suppliers to safeguard the consistently high quality and quantity of raw materials. This allows the company to respond flexibly to fluctuations in volume and to maintain supply security even when market conditions change.
Recycled polystyrene
Recycled polystyrene (rPS) is attracting significant national and international interest. The rPS method involves dissolving post-consumer waste in a solvent. This enables the removal of contaminants and additives from the polymer and creates a PS polymer containing recycled post-consumer materials.
Layer 1 & 3 | virgin PS material
Functional barrier with a thickness of 100 µm, for example (before deep drawing): Virgin PS material using our proven formulation | product-contacting material
Layer 2 | rPS share
PS with the usual mixture ratio, but some of the PS is replaced with rPS.
rPS development at Fernholz
We are launching a major project focusing on the recycling of PS for use in the food sector. The objective is to establish a functioning circular economy for polystyrene with food contact.
Fernholz packaging and a partner take back material from the FFS process in dairies and other food sectors and “incorporate” rPS 2.0 into their films. The basic rPS process is registered as a “Novel Technology” under the new EU Regulation 2022-1616 on recycled materials.
We promote the use of rPS from household-based collection programmes to develop a comprehensive recycling system. The PS content from these collections is recycled purely mechanically.
The entire qualifi cation process is brought to a successful conclusion. PS recycling reaches an even more complex stage with rPS 3.0.
In March 2026, our basic recycling process for polystyrene (rPS) was included in the new European Union “Union Register of novel technologies”.
In May, Fernholz Verpackungen, ALDI Einkauf SE & Co. oHG and the ZOTT dairy received the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe (PRSE Award) in the Product Technology Innovation category.
Outlook
Fernholz packaging anticipates rPS consumption of around 2,000 metric tonnes. This corresponds to a recyclate content of at least 10% based on a total volume of approximately 20,000 metric tonnes of film, which we will be bringing to market.
In the long term, we are aiming for an EFSA assessment and European authorisation for industrial use.
Five machines registered as recycling centres
Fernholz packaging currently has five machines at two production sites registered as recycling centres and holds the corresponding recycling identification numbers (RINs). This ensures the availability of sufficient capacity, including a reserve.
All facilities operate based on the published novel technology, utilising a functional barrier. Not only does the new product layer ensure compliance with food safety regulations, it also reliably masks any potential visual imperfections that cannot be completely eliminated during physical recycling.
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