This arti­cle was orig­i­nal­ly pub­lished in iLaks.no on 12 Sep­tem­ber 2024.

The Nor­we­gian Seafood Fed­er­ar­tion and the Nor­we­gian Seafood Coun­cil are part­ner­ing with EPS-forenin­gen (the Nor­we­gian EPS Asso­ci­a­tion) on a project that could increase the recy­cling of fish box­es in Asia.

“The aim of the ini­tia­tive is to gain more knowl­edge about what hap­pens to the fish box­es when they reach their final des­ti­na­tion,” says Mounir El’Mourabit, Advo­ca­cy Offi­cer at EPS-forenin­gen, in a press release.

Over the years, Europe has devel­oped an indus­try for recy­cling EPS (expand­ed poly­styrene) fish box­es. The recy­cling rate in sev­er­al Euro­pean coun­tries, includ­ing Nor­way, exceeds 90 per cent.

Recog­nised by UNEP (Unit­ed Nations Envi­ron­ment Pro­gramme) EPS fish box­es are the most com­mon­ly used solu­tion for pack­ag­ing and ship­ping fish due to the material’s low weight, high insu­la­tion capac­i­ty, and hygiene require­ments. In April this year, the UNEP recog­nised that EPS fish box­es are recy­cled in prac­tice and at scale.

This recog­ni­tion is shared by only a hand­ful of pack­ag­ing formats.

“EPS box­es are a good solu­tion where they are recy­cled. We want the fish box­es to be part of a cir­cu­lar val­ue chain. This is why we, togeth­er with EPS-forenin­gen, have been explor­ing how the indus­try can deliv­er solu­tions to increase recy­cling rates,” says Hen­rik Wiedswang Hor­jen, Head of Com­mu­ni­ca­tions at the Nor­we­gian Seafood Federation.

Aim­ing to Increase Mate­r­i­al Recycling

Togeth­er with the Nor­we­gian Seafood Coun­cil and Seafood Nor­way, EPS-forenin­gen has now ini­ti­at­ed a sur­vey in the Asian mar­ket. The goal is for the indus­try togeth­er to imple­ment mea­sures to ensure high­er mate­r­i­al recy­cling rates in vul­ner­a­ble areas.

Most fish box­es enter hubs where they are processed. The chal­lenge aris­es when the fish is resold, and the Nor­we­gian pro­duc­ers no longer have con­trol over the shipment.

“We have ini­ti­at­ed a map­ping exer­cise to deter­mine where the fish box­es end up and how they are ulti­mate­ly han­dled,” Hor­jen explains.

South­east Asia is a grow­ing and impor­tant mar­ket for Nor­we­gian seafood. In 2023, Nor­way export­ed 153,000 tonnes of seafood worth NOK 8.4 bil­lion to the region.

“Recy­cling as many of the fish box­es export­ed as pos­si­ble is a good ambi­tion for the Nor­we­gian seafood indus­try. We hope that this map­ping will pro­vide valu­able insights and, in the long run, ensure a recy­cling scheme for fish box­es,” says Åshild Nakken, the Nor­we­gian Seafood Council’s rep­re­sen­ta­tive to South­east Asia.

“So far, we have encoun­tered good­will and seen oppor­tu­ni­ties. Com­pressed EPS is an impor­tant resource in the cir­cu­lar econ­o­my, and we want to make sure that as many fish box­es as pos­si­ble are col­lect­ed for recy­cling,” con­cludes Mounir El’Mourabit.

Mounir El’­Moura­bit (EPS-forenin­gen), Dag Sør­li (Nor­we­gian Seafood Coun­cil) and Hen­rik Wiedswang Hor­jen (Nor­we­gian Seafood Fed­er­a­tion) pre­sent­ed the project at Framtid­shavets Rein Sogne­fjord event in Balestrand. Pho­to: Mari Bon­de­vik, Nor­we­gian Seafood Council.

Fact:

EPS (expand­ed poly­styrene) is a light­weight and envi­ron­men­tal­ly friend­ly mate­r­i­al, con­sist­ing of 98% air and 2% poly­styrene (plas­tic). As pack­ag­ing, EPS con­tributes to increased food safe­ty and reduced food waste, while as insu­la­tion, it helps cre­ate warmer and more ener­gy-effi­cient build­ings. EPS is cost-effec­tive to recy­cle. In Nor­way, used EPS pack­ag­ing has a cer­ti­fied return rate of 99% accord­ing to sta­tis­tics from Grønt Punkt Norge and is recy­cled into every­thing from con­struc­tion boards to clothes hang­ers. The major­i­ty of Nor­we­gian seafood exports are pack­aged in EPS fish box­es, which have the unique qual­i­ties of being light­weight while keep­ing food fresh until it reach­es mar­kets around the world. EPS is sig­nif­i­cant­ly lighter than alter­na­tive pack­ag­ing mate­ri­als such as paper, wood, or met­al, mean­ing EPS fish box­es con­tribute to few­er trucks on the roads, low­er emis­sions, reduced trans­port costs, less food waste, and a more sus­tain­able seafood export industry.