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What can be done to recycle Styrofoam
economically and efficiently?
Known within the packaging industry as expanded
polystyrene (EPS) and usually bearing the No. 6 recycling symbol, Styrofoam
(which is actually the trademark name for Dow Chemical’s product) has
long been an environmental bugaboo, partly because it contains chemicals
known to cause central nervous system damage and other health problems in
workers who are regularly exposed to it and partly because it is difficult
and expensive to recycle, tending to clog landfills already teeming with
toxic garbage. But EPS has proved one of the lightest and least
costly forms of packaging material, so the industry has worked hard to make
recycling it more cost-effective and convenient. More than 80 packaging
manufacturers, polystyrene suppliers, and equipment makers joined together
in 1991 to form the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers. The
Maryland-based industry association works to facilitate recycling between
EPS manufacturers and the companies that buy from them. It currently boasts
of overseeing the recycling of 10 to 12 percent of the postconsumer EPS
packaging produced every year. Member companies, which provide drop-off services at
their facilities, reprocess as much as 60 percent of the EPS foam collected
and incorporate it directly into new packaging. Some of the material is
reformulated and used in a wide variety of durable plastic products.
Currently more than 110 plant locations, serving as collection centers,
receive upwards of 50 million pounds of postconsumer EPS packaging each
year. The AFPR provides a comprehensive list of EPS drop-off locations from
coast to coast on its Web site. Although companies sending the EPS in for
recycling must bear the shipping or drop-off costs, they may save money
over paying for disposal fees at the landfill. One caveat: The AFPR does not get involved in the
recycling of the foam “peanuts” so often used as packaging
filler. Most “pack-and-ship” shops (e.g., UPS stores) will
accept used but otherwise clean foam peanuts for reuse in their own
shipments. Otherwise, the Plastic Loose Fill Council, another trade group,
runs a free Web-based database where users can find a local drop-off center
by simply punching in a ZIP code. Also, food-service managers should bear in mind that
recycling of soiled food-grade EPS is more difficult and expensive because
of issues of bacterial contamination. Most EPS-packaging recycling centers
will not accept such tainted foam. Many food-service companies have
followed the lead of McDonald’s and phased out their use of EPS
containers for disposable dishware and to-go orders. Companies that don’t find it convenient to
recycle or otherwise dispose of large amounts of EPS (food-grade or
otherwise) may want to consider purchasing one or more StyroMelt machines
from United Kingdom-based Purex. The technology uses a thermal-compaction
process to reduce the volume of EPS by as much as 95 percent. The resulting
solid EPS “briquettes” are dense enough to make good recycling
fodder and also take up much less room than the foam they started out as if
they end up in the landfill.
For more information:
Purex Styromelt, www.styromelt.com; Plastic Loose Fill Council,
www.loosefillpackaging.com; Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers,
www.epspackaging.org.
Send questions to Earth Talk, care of E/The Environmental Magazine,
P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881 or e-mail earthtalk@emagazine.com.
This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2007.
