Schur Pack designs new carton packaging without plastics in collaboration with A. Espersen

Preparations for producer responsibility for packaging are in full swing among VANA's members. Although there are still many unresolved questions in relation to the legislation, we recommend using the waiting time wisely, e.g., investigate whether the quantities or design of the packaging used today can be minimised or composed in a better way for the environment – and your wallet.

Schur Pack has since the 1950s collaborated with A. Espersen A/S to develop and produce packaging solutions for their retail fish dishes, and they are now one of Schur Pack's largest partners. Most of Espersen's products have been packed directly in a carton packaging produced by Schur Pack. To keep the goods as fresh as possible, the boxes have been coated with PE (Poly Ethylene), which is a thin layer of plastics. This has created a hygiene barrier that, among other things, ensures that fat from the fish does not penetrate the carton and contaminate the packaging.

Less plastics and more recyclable

During the last two years, Schur Pack in collaboration with Espersen, has created a new packaging that can replace the plastic layer with another barrier. This has resulted in a new water-based coating that is completely free of plastics. The barrier still ensures that fat from the fish dish, which can be both coated in breadcrumbs or puff pastry wrapped, does not penetrate the packaging.

Schur Pack produces approx. 50 million boxes annually for A. Espersen A/S, and therefore it is not possible that you can change the entire production from one day to the next. Today, however, Schur Pack uses approximately 125 tons of plastics a year to produce packaging for Espersen, and the goal is therefore that the new plastic-free packaging will be rolled out completely by 2025, when the producer responsibility for packaging comes into force. The ambitious goal has been set in preparation the large fish producer will be able to remove plastics completely from its carton packaging as soon as possible.

When the solution is fully rolled out, it primarily helps to make the packaging more recyclable and thus sustainable. Without the use of plastics, the recycling of the packaging becomes more straightforward since it can be sorted as pure cardboard after cleaning food scraps.

"Just as we have done in our collaboration with A. Espersen A/S, we always take the individual customer's situation and wishes as our starting point. We have a close dialogue with our customers so that we together can create the best solution for the specific need. In relation to the extended producer responsibility, this process becomes even more crucial. There will be an increasing need to create innovative and flexible packaging solutions because of the forthcoming legislation. Here we, as a company, must among other things, deal with a new tax based on the environmental friendliness of packaging", says Søren Schiermer Westergaard, sales Manager at Schur Pack, Denmark.