A pile of discarded clear PET food trays

Sustainability

50+ billion trays hit landfill every year. The pad is why.

Soaker pads block recyclable PET trays from the recycling stream, the biggest food packaging problem in the world. Lucid eliminated the pad.

One material

100% clear PET.

No pad. No contaminants.

Failure points removed.

Designed for recycling

Rinse and recycle in the same stream as PET bottles.

Golden Design Rules

Aligned with the industry’s Golden Design Rules.

The problem

Recycling fails at the tray.

Plastic trays dumped into landfills mean forever-lost recycling opportunities. The reason isn't the tray. It's what's glued inside it.

A soaker pad glued inside a conventional food tray

01

Pads block the stream

Recycling is impossible when pads, glues and colours are included — trays go straight to landfill.

Berries, meat and seafood side by side in padded retail packs

02

Key categories, same failure

Berries, cut fruit, meats, seafood, poultry — mismanaged purge span them all, compounding the problem.

Mixed-material packaging with conflicting recycling symbols

03

Mixed materials, mixed messages

Limited consumer adoption for recycling, devaluing the entire recycling stream.

A growing pile of discarded padded trays

04

Compounds by the second

3,000+ trays with soaker pads will be dumped into landfills by the time you finish this sentence.

The fix

Eliminate the pad. Restore recyclability.

Others optimize packaging. Lucid removes the failure point. One design decision, and the whole tray re-enters the recycling stream.

Two-piece Infinity tray with the liquid held below the product

01

Pad-less by design

A patented two-piece tray design that separates the liquid purge — no absorbent pad required.

A clear PET tray made from a single material

02

Mono-material PET

100% recyclable. Zero contaminants. No soaker pads, membranes, desiccants or multilayers.

A clear tray being rinsed before going into the recycling bin

03

Rinse and recycle

No consumer adoption required. Easy for consumers and municipalities.

A shopper picking up a clear Infinity tray at the retail case

04

Circularity

Yesterday's tray becomes tomorrow's tray, again and again.

Explore Lucid Infinity™

Recyclability depends on local collection and processing infrastructure.

Why mono-material

One material. One clear path.

01Recycled content
Clean PET PCR/PIR flake
02Clear sheet
High-clarity PET sheet
03One tray system
Lucid clear PET tray
04Back in the stream
Clean PET flake ring

No pads or membranes

Nothing glued inside the tray: no soaker pad, no film layers. That's what usually ruins recycling.

Less virgin resin

Made with recycled PET, so less brand-new plastic has to be produced.

Less material complexity

One plastic doing the whole job. Lighter, simpler to make, simpler to recycle.

Designed for PET recycling streams*

Rinse it and drop it in your home recycling bin, the same stream as bottles.

*Acceptance varies by local program.

EPR fee advantages may applyVaries by jurisdiction

Thermoforming line inside the Lucid factory, in low light

The Golden Design Rules

Six rules apply. Six rules met.

Lucid trays align with each applicable Golden Design Rule.

GDR 1

Increases value in PET recycling.

GDR 2

No problematic elements in the package.

GDR 3

No excess headspace. Sized to the product.

Lucid clear PET tray
GDR 5

Raises value of PET thermoformed trays.

GDR 8

Less virgin plastic in B2B packaging.

GDR 9

How2Recycle labelled on every tray.

Not applicable to clear PET thermoformed trays:GDR 4 · Plastic overwrapsGDR 6 · Flexible packagingGDR 7 · Rigid HDPE & PP

The credentials

Proof, not promises.

Memberships, certification and material facts. Verified.

Sustainable Packaging Coalition

Member

FSSC 22000

SGS-certified facilities

How2Recycle

Rinse · Check locally · Recycle

01 PET

Clear PET material

Clear Lucid trays on a retail shelf

Ready to fix it?

50 billion trays are waiting on one decision. Make it.

Request a sample. Pack it with your product. See for yourself.