Today, expanded polystyrene (EPS) is seemingly everywhere. Known by brand names such as Styrofoam, this petroleum-based plastic is a common material for hot cups, takeout containers, and various other packaging applications because of its insulating, cushioning, lightweight, and cost-effective properties. Nevertheless, the flip side is that EPS breaks down incredibly slowly and has little value for conventional recycling. As a material with a massively widespread presence but hardly any after-use viability, EPS poses a tricky pollution dilemma.
But what if we could fundamentally change how we handle post-consumer EPS waste? Enter recyclable EPS. According to the good folk over at Epsilyte, new methods to collect, compact, and reprocess EPS so it can substitute raw materials for manufacturing new products are transforming this ubiquitous plastic from no-value trash to valuable recyclable resource.
Table of Contents
Game-Changing EPS Recycling
Densifiers and compactors can condense large volumes of collected EPS into condensed blocks up to fifty times smaller in size for economic transport to central processors instead of landfill. This preprocessing step is absolutely crucial in order to make the recycling of EPS both logistically and economically viable, ensuring that the process is both practical to manage and financially sound.
Specialized sorting equipment separates any attached residual waste before an intricate grinding and washing procedure reduces the EPS into reusable flakes or pellets. Sophisticated processes can recycle mixed types of EPS as well as purify the material to required grades for reuse in manufacturing new EPS products.
Why EPS Recycling Matters?
Beyond just keeping more EPS out of landfills which are increasingly strained for capacity as urban populations and consumption grow, close looping this problematic plastic unlocks cascading benefits:
- Conserving Resources: Recycling existing EPS to make new materials consumes only 10-20% of the energy and raw hydrocarbon resources needed to create virgin EPS. Life cycle estimates show recycling 1 ton of EPS saves the equivalent of 44 barrels of crude oil and 22 million BTUs of energy.
- Building Local Economies: EPS recycling stimulates job opportunities in collection, transportation, sorting and reprocessing—keeping value circulating regionally instead of being dumped. As demand grows with more infrastructure, so can jobs.
- Closing the Loop: Recycling gives EPS real after-use viability instead of ending up discarded after one short first-life. This cycle of reuse unlocks the circular economy model for plastics.
EPS: From Villain to Hero?
For decades, EPS has shouldered a notorious reputation as a problematic pollutant. But the tides could be shifting as game-changing advancements reshape the possibilities for handling one of the most pervasive and hard-to-recycle plastic waste streams. Recyclable EPS may be key to affordably diverting billions of tons of plastic from landfills this century. Tech innovations could propel EPS from sustainability villain to circular economy hero.
Governments, businesses and consumers all have complementary roles to play in collecting and capturing more post-consumer EPS, building sortation and reprocessing infrastructure, and developing end-markets for recycled EPS material in products.
Through shared investment and responsibility, we could write a new narrative for EPS; one centered on reusable resources rather than disposable waste. The possibilities are real to recast EPS from an environmental headache to a sustainable solution. It’s time to think outside the foam box and unlock this plastic’s full potential.
Conclusion
Rather than only seeing EPS as a problematic plastic deserving banishment, emerging recycling technologies encourage us to reimagine this material as one with enormous possibility to redefine responsible resource use. By working together and implementing the right systems, we can prevent EPS from polluting fragile environments and reduce plastic pollution. The journey to a worldwide circular economy without waste hinges on effectively managing challenging-to-recycle plastics, including EPS.