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Yes, most forms of styrofoam or polystyrene are recyclable. When it was first introduced in the early 20th century, styrofoam took the world by storm with its low cost, lightweight, and numerous other benefits as packaging, insulation, and craft material.

This polystyrene-based foam is still wildly popular in modern times, but what many people aren’t aware of is its high level of toxicity and the fact that it is hardly biodegradable (in fact next to impossible to get rid of). Still, all hope isn’t lost – recycling styrofoam (and other brands of polystyrene foam) is the way to go if reducing its use is still a concern. Let’s see What Is Styrofoam!

What Is Styrofoam Made of?


Video by NPPF Dubai

Styrofoam, trademarked by Dow Chemical Company, is a form of polystyrene plastic commonly known as EPS or Expanded Polystyrene Foam. Interestingly enough, polystyrene only makes for about 5% of styrofoam, the rest is air. Polystyrene is made from petroleum and releases benzene, a carcinogenic chemical when produced.

Recycling Styrofoam has become the need of the hour, but its constituents put a kink in the plan. Also, alternatives are only now entering the market and it will be some time before styrofoam and other polystyrene-based products will cease being produced.

Is Styrofoam Biodegradable?

You should be aware that petrochemicals are used to manufacture Styrofoam. And they typically do not disintegrate. Therefore, we might draw the conclusion that Styrofoam is NOT biodegradable. Although Styrofoam can degrade naturally, this typically takes between 500 and a thousand years.

Is Styrofoam Plastic?

Yes, styrofoam is a type of polystyrene plastic. When the polystyrene is shaped into a solid form with air bubbles, you get an isolated material known as styrofoam. It is a plastic used to make clear packaging for products like food or similar packaging.

Is Styrofoam Bad for the Environment?

Pile of waste plastic bottles and other trash - human impact on environmental damage concept,

No matter how widely styrofoam is used for packaging, throwing it off is generally bad for the environment. According to experts, 30% of landfills are crowded with styrofoam. This is not a good indicator since this type of plastic takes more than 100 years to decompose.

Moreover, not just in landfills, styrofoam is also polluting the ocean. Small pieces of this material are swallowed by fishes and other marine animals, which causes more harm to their health. To curb this problem, you can start looking for effective and environmental-friendly ways to dispose of styrofoam.

How to Dispose of Styrofoam?

Disposing of styrofoam is difficult since most cities do not have the facility for recycling them. So, avoid keeping them in your recycling bin as they may end up in landfills.

Contact your local recycling programs and ask whether they take up styrofoam for recycling. Some regular waste disposal companies have specialized disposal programs for styrofoam. Apart from this, several shipping stores in your city reuse styrofoam for packaging. You can get in touch with them.

Is EPS Recycling Hard? | World Wide Waste

Detailed video by Business Insider on why it is so hard to recycle styrofoam and polystyrene.

Can Styrofoam be Recycled?

Styrofoam, also known as expanded polystyrene (EPS), doesn’t deteriorate or disintegrate over time. Although Styrofoam is recyclable, relatively few recycling centers actually take it. Reduced use is the greatest way to recycle styrofoam.

How to Recycle Styrofoam?

Styrofoam-Containers

Because of its low density, EPS foam is categorized as a number 6 plastic, making it difficult to recycle. It must be broken down and compressed using specialized equipment into a significantly denser material, around 1/90th of its original volume. Insulation sheets, construction materials, and other everyday goods can all be made from them.

Despite what many people think, Styrofoam and other polystyrene products can be recycled, and here’s an overview of how that’s done:

  • Styrofoam or ESP Foam is placed on a conveyor belt and sent through a shredding machine.
  • The shredded foam is then transferred to a plastic extruder, where it melts due to exposure to heat and pressure.
  • A small outlet from the plastic extruder lets out the melted EPS foam, which instantaneously cools, solidifies, and then is transported to factories where it will be remoulded into new products using heat and pressure.

Recycling Styrofoam or Polystyrene on a Large Scale

Recycling styrofoam on a large scale comes with its own set of unique problems:

  • Recycling needs to be done keeping in mind the exact code of the plastic (in the case of Polystyrene plastic, its code is #6).
  • The qualities that make styrofoam useful are the same factors that make the cost of transportation economically unviable, i.e., its lightweight, low cost and large volume per unit of weight.
  • It requires cleaning and segregation before it is processed. This adds to the existing cost.

How to Cut Down Styrofoam Usage?

If EPS recycling is a hassle, cutting its usage is better. Another reason the use of EPS should be reduced is that it is a potential health threat. During the manufacturing process of styrofoam, pollutants like ozone are produced on a large scale.

Hence, it is necessary to cut down the usage. Here are some tips that can help minimize the production of EPS:

  • Encourage brands that use biodegradable waste for packaging by buying from them.
  • Select the reduced packaging option when ordering something online.
  • When moving or mailing something, reuse the styrofoam packaging you already have in the house.
  • Use an alternative corn-based packaging to ship something.

What Are the Advancements in Recycling Styrofoam or Polystyrene?

There is a lot of research being conducted on recycling polystyrene and EPS foam, and some recent advancements of note include:

  • Massive organizations such as Alliance for Form Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) have come up with the means to allow anyone (individuals and commercial organizations) who wish to recycle their share of Styrofoam to do so through a unique mail-back option.
  • Research has led to using pure orange rind oil and d-Limonene as solvents that can dissolve Styrofoam.
  • Sony, in 1997, gave recycling Styrofoam a large-scale trial run in Tokyo – “Orange R-net.” Research revealed that, when dissolved in d-Limonene, styrofoam produces 30% less carbon dioxide than traditional recycling methods. Recycling results in a high-quality product.
  • Once Styrofoam is dissolved in a solvent, the resulting sticky mixture can be used as permanent glue for crafts and industrial applications.

Today, packaging companies have started to bring in environmentally friendly alternatives to EPS or styrofoam. For example, air cushion packaging, where an air-filled film protects the product, offers both versatility and recyclability. Biodegradable food packaging made of corn starch or paper has also hit the markets in a big way.

Using an eco-friendly alternative is a good place to start, as is the awareness of the pollution that the disposal of polystyrene causes to the environment and the massive part we play in bringing it to an end. Recycling polystyrene is the next best thing to not using plastics at all!

Can You Recycle Styrofoam in California?

Although it is challenging to recycle styrofoam because it is a grade 6 plastic with low density, it can be recycled at companies or organizations with proper machines.

If you are searching for EPS recycling centers in California, check the local government for curbside recycling programs. Right now, not every town has this facility, but you can find one in San Francisco Bay Area. There, a company named GreenCitizen has an EPS recycling program. GreenCitizen has a Green Directory database that can help you find the nearest EPS recycling centers for people who don’t reside in the Bay Area.