An article by Global Seafood Alliance articulates the major problems the fish industry is facing with single use packaging. The urgent need for alternatives is clear, even if just to reduce the use of polystyrene.
Expanded polystyrene is a ‘waste nightmare’ but could non-EPS seafood packaging reduce ocean pollution?
A major source of marine plastics is expanded polystyrene – a type of plastic that when puffed with air is lightweight, buoyant, water-resistant and an excellent insulator. For these reasons, expanded polystyrene (also known as foamed polystyrene, EPS or “Styrofoam”) is a popular choice for the seafood industry, often used by fisheries and aquaculture operations for buoys, food packaging (e.g., fish boxes or cool boxes), the interior of pontoons and marina platforms and more.
EPS remains the go-to packaging for transporting seafood, used for both packaging and insulation purposes. But EPS packaging generates a significant environmental burden through its production, use and disposal and its single-use also feeds into the plastic pollution problem.
So what can be done? Some innovators are thinking outside the EPS box and developing more sustainable packaging for the seafood industry. Could such alternatives help tackle the seafood industry’s polystyrene problem?