In mid‑2021, Strandby Port in Frederikshavn Municipality became home to Denmark’s latest EPS recycling initiative: a dedicated collection hub for clean EPS packaging, mainly from seafood firms, set up through a collaboration between Strandby Fiskerihavn and RecyclePit.
Turning a logistics node into a circular asset
Strandby Fiskerihavn handles consistent volumes of EPS packaging—such as fish boxes and protective material—from harbour and transport operators. Until now, clean EPS had limited recovery options, often diverted through standard waste disposal channels. Recognizing the potential, port stakeholders and RecyclePit worked together to establish a collection area at the harbour, enabling local businesses to deposit clean EPS directly into a centralised facility integrated into their routine logistics (Fiskeri Tidende, Fiskeri Tidende, forsyningen.dk).
The collection hub is accessible to all harbour-based and nearby enterprises, offering a shared infrastructure model with minimal responsibility directly on individual businesses. Strandby Port coordinates drop-off and ensures material flows smoothly into existing recyclable streams managed by Frederikshavn Forsyning (forsyningen.dk).
How the system works
- Source separation: Seafood companies and associated logistics sort clean, dry EPS packaging.
- Collection point: EPS is dropped off in a designated area at the harbour.
- Logistics integration: The collected EPS is consolidated and transferred via local recycling logistics to downstream recyclers.
This setup utilises existing waste management frameworks and eliminates the need for individual densifiers or collection calls per company.
Strategic relevance
Ports and logistics hubs generate consistent flows of bulky packaging materials like EPS. Yet, providers often lack the volume to justify dedicated recycling infrastructure. By locating a collection point within transformational nodes like Strandby Port, NEPSA’s circular system logic is achieved through minimal infrastructure but high use density.
The shared hub model reduces fragmentation in material flows, aligns with producer responsibility schemes through cleaner input and traceability, and enables smaller businesses—otherwise excluded from EPS recycling—to contribute effectively.
This case exemplifies how geography-based intervention and strategic infrastructure placement can vastly increase capture rates without high decentralised investment. It points the way for replication in other ports, industrial zones, and logistics centres with similar material streams.
Conclusion
Strandby Port’s EPS recycling hub demonstrates how ports can pivot from logistics terminals to circular hubs by integrating waste collection into core operations. The initiative offers a lightweight, scalable approach to incorporate small and medium-sized enterprises into regional EPS recycling systems—representing a practical step towards industrial circularity.
Source: “Strandby Havn etablerer EPS-genbrugsplads,” EPS‑Airpop, 5 January 2022 — EPS‑Airpop
