New carton packaging for fish producer completely plastic free

Since the 1950s, Schur has collaborated with A. Espersen A/S to develop and produce packaging solutions for their retail fish and seafood dishes, making them one of Schur's largest business partners. Most of Espersen's products have been directly packaged in carton packaging produced by Schur. To keep the goods as fresh as possible, the boxes have been coated with PE (Poly Ethylene), which is a thin layer of plastic. This has created a hygiene barrier, ensuring that moisture from the fish does not penetrate the carton and damage the packaging.

Less plastic and more recyclable

For about two years, Schur has been working diligently to create new packaging for A. Espersen A/S that can replace the plastic layer with a different barrier. This effort has resulted in a new water-based coating that is entirely free of plastic. The barrier still ensures that moisture and stains from their fish do not penetrate the packaging.

At Schur, 50 million boxes are produced annually for A. Espersen A/S, and therefore, it is not an overnight transition to change the entire production process. Currently, Schur uses around 125 tons of plastic per year to produce packaging for Espersen. The goal is for the new plastic-free packaging to be fully implemented by 2025. This ambitious target is set with the aim that the big fish producer can quickly eliminate plastic entirely from its packaging production.

When the solution is fully implemented, it primarily contributes to making the packaging more recyclable and thus sustainable. Without the use of plastic, the recycling of the packaging becomes simpler, as it can be sorted as carton.