Should You Remove Plastic Film From Food Trays Before Recycling?

Yes—remove plastic film from a food tray before recycling the rigid tray unless your council gives a different instruction. Flexible film and rigid trays normally use separate recycling routes, so peel them apart and check where each material is accepted.

Why remove plastic film from food trays?

Trays keep their shape and can travel through optical sorting systems as rigid packaging. Thin film can wrap around machinery and may be collected through a separate retailer or specialist route. Leaving the two attached creates a mixed item that is harder to identify and can lower the quality of recovered plastic.

Peel rather than cut where possible

Use the corner tab before food residue dries. If a narrow rim of film refuses to come away, remove as much as is reasonably easy without creating a sharp tray edge. You do not need to spend several minutes scraping glue. Never put a knife towards your hand simply to separate a stubborn seal.

Clean to an everyday standard

Scrape food into the food-waste or residual route provided locally, then use a quick rinse or the end of the washing-up water. Recycling should be empty, not sterilised. Allow the tray to drain, especially in mixed collections where water can spoil paper and card. An absorbent pad must also be removed.

Find the film collection

Check the on-pack label and your council’s current instructions. Many larger supermarkets have front-of-store flexible-plastic collection points for clean bags, wrappers and films, but not every material is accepted. In England, councils are due to collect plastic film from households by March 2027; until the local service starts, do not place film in kerbside recycling speculatively.

Avoid nesting after separation

Do not hide the removed film, pad or smaller packaging inside the clean tray. Place the rigid tray loose in its correct container. If the tray is compostable-looking, black or made from foam, check it individually: appearance and a triangular symbol do not guarantee that the local sorting facility can recycle it.

Separate the pack before residue dries

Peel the film as soon as the tray is empty, because dried sauce or fat can glue the layers together. Hold the rigid rim rather than pulling against a cracked corner, and stop if separation would create a sharp edge. A narrow bonded strip left around the rim is less important than removing the main sheet. Keep clean film with other accepted flexible plastics instead of folding it back into the tray. If the film label says not yet recycled, do not let that instruction prevent you from recycling the separate rigid tray where it is accepted.

Official sources

• GOV.UK – Simpler Recycling: household recycling in England
• Recycle Now – recycling guidance

Sources checked: August 2026. Local services and national requirements can change.