The plastic package containing smoked chicken in the supermarket, the disposable cup that holds your tea or coffee, the case which stores your favorite music CD, and the shower unit that lets you enjoy a refreshing shower, all are made up of the polymer, Polystyrene. Polystyrene can be injected, extruded, or blow molded; making it a very useful and versatile manufacturing material. However, do not forget to recycle EPS waste products by working with a great company like PolyMelt.

 

Polystyrene is an excellent packaging material due to its insulating and protective properties. Unfortunately, once goods are delivered and opened, Polystyrene then becomes a waste material that companies must pay to dispose of. Large, bulky pieces of polystyrene can take up significant space in a waste skip which means the skip becomes full more quickly and therefore needs to be emptied more often — therefore more cost. So, if you care about the environment, recycling Polystyrene is a great idea.

 

Some of the same qualities that make Polystyrene useful can also work against it when it comes to recycling. Its lightness means that it's hard to collect from curbside containers -- it often blows away, becoming litter. Because it's bulky, it's difficult and expensive to transport. Many recycling programs do not even accept it. One of the problems of recycling Polystyrene in general is that you have to gather the same types of materials together and sort them by their material container code -- a number usually found on the bottom of the container that makes it easy to identify the type of plastic in the object. EPS waste presents a lot of problems. While water and soda bottles are relatively clean when discarded, EPS used for food is often mixed with paper, food scraps and other types of plastic, like the straw that's thrown away with a Polystyrene cup.

 

EPS waste usually can't be recycled locally but has to be transported to a centralized plant, increasing costs to the recyclers and reducing the incentive to recycle. Also, recycled EPS waste cannot, in most cases, be used for products that contact food because of health concerns, even though the material is sterilised by the recycling process. Recycled EPS waste—like the one made by PolyMelt—might be used instead to create packaging or other materials, but new Polystyrene is always needed for coffee cups and plates.

 

Making EPS requires petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. So, recycling Polystyrene reduces the amount of oil needed for the manufacturing process. This is not a pure gain, of course, because some energy must still be used to transport and reprocess the material. The most visible benefit of recycling Polystyrene is in the reduction of litter both on land and in the sea. Polystyrene, which is not affected by oxygen, sunlight or water, stays around indefinitely. Municipalities have to spend money to clean it up. Recycling Polystyrene also prevents the material from being burned in backyard fires or burn barrels. Polystyrene can produce toxic chemicals when burned unless efficient incinerators are used.

 

The benefits and the difficulties of recycling Polystyrene are a good example of the complex issues that can arise when we're looking at ways to conserve resources and protect the environment. The solutions, as in the case of recycling Polystyrene, are not always easy, especially since there are few reliable companies out there like PolyMelt who encourage people to recycle by reducing the cost of doing so. But we can't necessarily duck the question by turning to alternative materials, either. For example, the paper cup that holds your take-out coffee is usually plastic-coated and is not recyclable. Nor does it break down in landfills. Even a ceramic cup requires much more energy to produce than a Polystyrene one and typically continues to use energy to heat the water needed to wash it. There may be a savings in the long run, but the choice is not as clear as it sometimes seems.

 

 

If you are always looking out for the good of the planet and you just don’t know what to do with your Polystyrene, keep in mind that you are not the only one who wants to protect his home, so think about getting in contact with a revolutionary company like PolyMelt.Recycling Polystyrene has plenty of benefits, and, even though, it might sound like a troublesome job, there are experts at PolyMelt who can help out, free of charge.