PET is a workhorse packaging material for a reason: it is light, strong, food-safe, and part of the most mature plastic recycling stream in Europe. That does not make it perfect, and this page is honest about where the trade-offs sit.
PET has one of the best-established recycling infrastructures of any plastic. Chubby Gorilla containers are predominantly mono-material PET, which keeps them inside the standard PET recycling stream once separated by consumers.
Closures are typically PP or PE. Under EU 2024/1781 (tethered caps directive for beverage bottles) and PPWR generally, the direction of travel is towards recyclable-by-design packaging and reduced material intensity — both areas where PET packaging performs reasonably.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies from 12 August 2026 across all 27 Member States. It sets requirements for recyclability, recycled content, minimisation of empty space and materials, and a Declaration of Conformity for packaging placed on the market.
We are working directly with Chubby Gorilla on the compliance documentation for the SKUs we distribute so our customers have what they need before the deadline.
Right-size your packaging (do not put 30ml of product into a 60ml bottle). Choose mono-material formats where possible. Ask suppliers for recycled-content data. Register with the packaging producer responsibility scheme in every Member State you place packaging on the market in.
Plastic packaging is not carbon-free, PET recycling rates vary by country, and 'child-resistant' as a functional requirement rules out some low-impact packaging formats (unlined paperboard, uncapped pouch containers). Where those trade-offs exist we would rather name them than dress them up.
Chubby Gorilla is releasing rPET SKUs as the manufacturing supply supports it. Ask about specific SKUs and we will confirm what is currently available.
See the PPWR compliance guide — the short version is: get a Declaration of Conformity for every packaging component you place on the EU market, and be able to produce it on request.
Flexible pouch containers are typically multi-material laminates for barrier reasons and sit outside standard rigid PET recycling. Mono-material recyclable pouch options are emerging; ask us for current availability.