The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office worked with packaging material developers to develop paper trays that are flexible and airy. (image: North Gyeongsang Provincial Office)
ANDONG, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — North Gyeongsang Province is taking the lead in environmental protection by changing packaging materials placed in fruit boxes from polystyrene to paper.
The provincial office recently developed a paper tray to replace polystyrene trays for fruit protection and applied it to apples for export to Taiwan and Vietnam for the first time.
Trays made from polystyrene have no ventilation and moisture retention functions, and can cause blemishes to fruits due to smooth surfaces and fruits bumping into each other.
This causes additional costs such as covering individual protection nets on fruits and causing environmental pollution.
After receiving complaints from overseas buyers, the province worked with packaging material developers to develop paper trays that are flexible and airy.
Apples can be kept stable, preventing damage during long-distance distribution. The paper tray also has good ventilation and moisture retention features to help improve freshness.
For the next two to three months, the province plans to apply the product to local retail products by supplementing its flaws after trial application to export products.
The provincial government believes that if paper packaging is used in earnest, 30-year-old polystyrene fruit packaging materials will disappear.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
