Expanded polystyrene has traditionally been the material of choice for seafood packaging, owing to its superior insulation, resistance to impact, and lightweight characteristics. These qualities help maintain the freshness of fish during transport while reducing the risk of damage during handling. Nevertheless, the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 raises significant doubts about the future of expanded polystyrene in the European market.

Expanded polystyrene seafood packaging is at risk of being banned in Europe because if this material is not recycled correctly, it will cause serious environmental pollution. This is the main reason for the ban. Many people believe that once this rule is implemented, it will be an encouragement for the creation of new materials. In fact, new materials for food packaging have been continuously developed in recent years, but no material has excellent performance. Especially as food packaging, people are even more cautious about it because it involves food safety. As we all know, the EU has very strict control over food safety, so taking the risk of changing food packaging is not a very safe method.

Considering not only the concerns about food safety but also the cost of packaging production, alternatives such as laminated paperboard with biodegradable coatings, bioplastics and reusable packaging systems are becoming viable alternatives. Although these materials meet the goals of sustainable development, they are more expensive to produce and require adjustments in logistics and handling. For this, we should still turn our attention to polystyrene recycling. Recycling polystyrene seafood packaging GREENMAX recommends the use of the marine series polystyrene compactor. The same stainless steel material can resist the erosion of seawater. No heating is required during the compression process. The heating temperature will not be reduced due to excessive water content, which will affect the compression results. The GREENMAX marine series polystyrene compactor can achieve a compression ratio of 50:1.

In recent years, there has been a lot of controversy about polystyrene seafood packaging. GREENMAX prefers the strategy of moderate use and reasonable recycling. If you have any better ideas, please feel free to discuss with us.