Expanded polystyrene (EPS) can be recycled. Many experts say it is 100% recyclable. But, its low density makes it hard to collect and move. Recycling EPS keeps it out of landfills. In landfills, it does not break down for hundreds of years. The eps recycled process helps make a closed-loop system. Old material becomes new products. This reduces pollution and saves resources. A 2022 survey says North America recycles about 31% of its EPS. This is close to the global rate.
Region/Country | EPS Recycling Rate (%) |
Global (many countries) | Above 30% |
North America | Approximately 31% |
Japan | 68% |
Korea | 88% |
Taiwan | 83% |
China | 46% |
Recycling EPS helps the environment in many ways:
l It lowers landfill waste.
l It stops harmful smoke from burning.
l It saves natural resources.
l It helps the circular economy by making new things from used EPS.
l EPS foam is made of mostly air. It is 100% recyclable. Its light weight makes recycling hard without special machines.
l Recycling EPS helps cut down on landfill waste. It also lowers pollution and saves natural resources. Old foam can become new products.
l The recycling process starts with collecting clean EPS. Then, it is densified to make it smaller. After that, it is made into new useful things.
l Many local programs and drop-off sites take clean EPS. You should check local rules and get the foam ready. This helps recycling work well.
l Recycling EPS helps the environment and the economy. It saves energy, cuts pollution, and creates jobs around the world.
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a type of plastic. It is light and stiff. Factories make EPS by shaping tiny polystyrene beads. These beads have a blowing agent inside, often pentane. When the beads get hot, they grow bigger and stick together. This makes a foam with closed cells. The closed cells hold air inside. This is why EPS is a good insulator. Most of EPS is air, about 98%. Only 2% is solid polystyrene. The repeating unit in polystyrene has the formula C₈H₈. EPS sometimes has extra things added. These can be flame retardants or stabilizers. They help make EPS work better. EPS does not let water or chemicals in. It is also strong for how light it is.
EPS is used in many fields because it is light and strong. It also keeps things warm or cold. The table below lists some main uses:
Industry / Application | Common Uses of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) |
Packaging | Protective packaging for electronics, medical equipment, food, and beverages; insulated shipping containers; cushioning. |
Building and Construction | Insulation panels for walls, roofs, and floors; structural insulated panels; geofoam blocks for civil engineering. |
Horticulture and Agriculture | Seed trays, plant pots, greenhouse insulation, hydroponic system parts, landscaping shapes. |
Automotive Industry | Bumpers, seat cushions, headrests, insulation in door panels, packaging for parts. |
Medical and Pharmaceutical | Packaging for medical devices, insulated containers for specimens and medicines, orthopedic supports. |
Appliance Packaging | Custom-fit packaging for appliances, insulation for electronics, moisture-resistant packaging. |
Entertainment and Creative | Stage design panels, art projects, lightweight sculpting materials. |
Marine | Buoyancy devices, marine panels for boats. |
Sound Insulation | Soundproofing panels for studios and buildings. |
EPS can hurt the environment if not recycled. The foam does not rot or break down. It can last for hundreds or thousands of years. EPS is very light, so wind and water can move it far away. This spreads pollution everywhere. Animals like seabirds and sea creatures may eat small EPS pieces. Eating EPS can make them sick or starve. EPS has chemicals like styrene. These can get into food and drinks, especially when hot. Most EPS goes to landfills or ends up outside. Recycling rates are still low. In landfills, EPS takes up space and does not break down. In the ocean, sunlight breaks EPS into tiny pieces called microplastics. These microplastics get into the food chain. They can hurt animals and people. Recycling EPS helps stop these problems. It keeps EPS out of landfills and nature.
Recycling expanded polystyrene (EPS) has a few main steps. Special machines and sorting are needed for each step. These steps help keep eps recycled material in a closed-loop system. Old foam can become new products.
The first step is to collect and sort the foam. Workers pick up EPS waste from many places. This includes packaging, shipping, and things people use. Recycling centers or business programs help gather the foam.
l Workers collect EPS foam waste from homes, stores, and factories.
l They sort the foam by type, color, and quality. Clean foam is best for recycling.
l Workers take off tape, labels, or food bits. Only clean EPS goes to the next step.
l They check how much EPS waste they have. This helps them know if they need special compactors.
Tip: Clean EPS foam makes recycling better and cuts down on waste.
EPS foam is very light and full of air. To recycle it, workers must make it smaller and heavier. Machines like shredders, compactors, and densifiers are used.
l Shredders cut big foam pieces into small bits.
l Foam compactors press the foam without heat. This makes it up to 50 times smaller.
l Foam densifiers use heat and pressure to melt the foam. This makes it even denser. Some machines shrink the foam by up to 90 times.
l Workers may use cold compaction to press foam into blocks. Or they use hot melting to melt foam into thick, dense shapes.
These steps take out the air and make foam easier to store and move. Densified EPS takes up less space and costs less to ship.
After densifying and shredding, the next step is extrusion and remanufacturing. This turns the dense EPS into new things.
l Workers put shredded and densified EPS into a plastic extruder.
l The extruder uses heat and pressure to melt the foam. This is called densification.
l The melted EPS comes out of a small opening. It forms a dense, spongy material.
l Workers pack the dense EPS for shipping.
l Factories get the densified EPS. They use heat and pressure to shape it into new products.
This closed-loop system keeps eps recycled material in use. It helps cut down on landfill waste and supports the circular economy. In North America, about 31% of EPS is recycled. This is close to the global average. Some countries, like Japan and Korea, recycle even more.
Note: Special machines like foam crushers, pelletizers, and cooling systems help make recycling faster and better.
Recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS) can be made into many things. Factories use eps recycled material for homes, offices, and building sites. These new items help cut down on waste and save resources.
Some things made from recycled EPS are:
l Picture frames and coat hangers
l Packing peanuts and foam packaging for electronics
l Outdoor furniture and seedling containers
l Door and window frames
l Insulating boxes for shipping vaccines and seafood
l Concrete additives for building materials
Many companies make new products with recycled EPS. Benchmark Foam makes eps360®, a strong foam board for green buildings. Builders use eps360® for roof insulation and under concrete floors. The Watertown Police Department used eps360® made from old EPS. This shows recycling can create a closed-loop system.
The table below shows more things made from recycled EPS:
Product Category | Examples/Uses |
Outdoor and Household Items | Outdoor furniture, coat hangers, seedling containers, door and window frames |
Construction Materials | Roofing tiles, insulated concrete forms, structural panels, concrete blocks |
Packaging | Packing peanuts, cushioning for fragile electronics |
Composite Materials | Decking and interior trim (when blended with plastic) |
Soil Amendment | Mixed with soil and compost to promote aeration |
Restrictions | Not used for food-contact items like insulated cups or foam trays |
Note: Factories do not use recycled EPS for food-contact items. This keeps food safe.
Recycling EPS helps the circular economy. In this system, people use things again instead of throwing them away. Many countries recycle EPS now. In 2023, 72 countries recycled EPS. Many had recycling rates over 30%. The United Nations Environment Programme says EPS can be recycled on a large scale.
Recycled EPS is used to make new building materials. Builders use it in concrete to make blocks lighter and warmer. Using recycled EPS saves sand and gravel. It also uses less energy to make new things.
Chemical recycling can turn waste EPS into styrene monomer. Factories use this to make new plastic. This process can lower global warming potential by up to 89%. The cost of recycled styrene is about the same as new material. This helps the environment and the economy.
Recycling EPS also saves oil. Every kilogram of EPS recycled saves about 2 liters of oil. This cuts pollution and saves resources.
l EPS recycling means collecting, densifying, and making new products.
l Industry partnerships help collect more used EPS.
l Up to 50% of new EPS products can use recycled content without losing quality.
l Education programs teach people how to recycle EPS the right way.
️ Using eps recycled material in new products helps the planet. It keeps waste out of landfills, saves resources, and protects the earth for the future.
Recycling expanded polystyrene helps the environment in many ways. When people recycle EPS, they protect the earth in different ways. Recycling keeps foam that does not break down out of landfills. This saves space and makes waste sites less full. Making new EPS from old foam uses less energy than making it from scratch. This means fewer greenhouse gases go into the air. EPS recycling saves petroleum, which is hard to replace. The system lets old foam become new things, so we need fewer new materials. Recycling used EPS helps the environment a lot. Land use goes down by 31%. Ozone loss drops by 28%. Acid rain problems fall by 24%. Water and land pollution from nutrients drops by 21%.
♻️ Recycling EPS keeps the planet cleaner and better for everyone.
The eps recycled business is worth a lot of money around the world. In 2024, the global EPS recycling market was about US$ 20.3 billion. This shows recycling is important for jobs and businesses. Companies that recycle EPS help cut down on waste. They also make new things for building and packaging. The industry gives people jobs, saves money on new materials, and helps towns and cities grow.
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling has many collection problems. EPS is made of about 98% air. This makes it very big but also very light. Trucks fill up fast with EPS, but the load does not weigh much. This makes moving EPS expensive. Regular balers and compactors do not work well for EPS. Only densifiers can press EPS enough to move it easily. These machines cost $20,000 to $30,000. Many recycling centers cannot buy them.
Contamination is also a big problem. Food, oil, and trash often stick to EPS, especially from takeout boxes. Dirty EPS must be cleaned before recycling. Washing adds more work and costs. Many recycling centers will not take dirty EPS.
Other problems are:
l Collecting enough EPS to make recycling worth it.
l Teaching businesses and local leaders why EPS recycling is good.
l Not enough recycling centers, especially in small towns or poor areas.
l Few people want to buy recycled EPS products, which are not worth much.
Tip: Clean and dry EPS is much easier to recycle. Always take off food and trash before recycling.
The EPS industry has found ways to fix these problems. Mail-back programs like Terracycle’s Zero Waste Box and Dart’s Next Life Program let people send EPS waste to recyclers. These programs help places without local recycling centers. Some companies, like ACH Foam Technologies, have drop-off spots for the public. This makes recycling easier for everyone.
New machines have made recycling better. Densifiers now make EPS up to 90 times smaller. This makes moving EPS much cheaper. Projects like EPSolutely use machines and chemicals to recycle even dirty or big EPS. Digital tools help plan the best ways to collect and move EPS.
The industry has spent over $185 million on new recycled resin technology. These new ideas let factories use recycled EPS in new things. Many companies now use green ways to make products, like solar power and water recycling. This helps the environment.
♻️ When people work together, use new tools, and share the job, EPS recycling works better and lasts longer.
Many communities now offer ways to recycle expanded polystyrene (EPS). Some cities have drop-off locations where people can bring clean foam packaging, cups, egg cartons, and ice chests. For example, Dart Container in Urbana, Illinois, runs a 24-hour drop-off site that accepts EPS products free of charge. The site asks people to use clear bags and only bring foam with the #6 recycling symbol. They do not accept packing peanuts or dirty foam.
Other programs, like those supported by the Foam Recycling Coalition, help recycling centers buy special densifiers. These machines compress foam, making it easier to store and ship. Some towns offer curbside pickup for EPS, while others have drop-off bins at recycling centers. Public awareness campaigns help people learn which items they can recycle and where to take them.
Tip: Always check local guidelines before bringing foam to a recycling center. Not all programs accept the same types of EPS.
Proper preparation makes EPS recycling more effective. People should follow these steps:
l Identify the foam. EPS is usually white, rigid, and marked with the #6 recycling symbol. It feels brittle and breaks into small beads.
l Sort EPS from other foams like polyethylene or polypropylene. Mixing types can cause problems at recycling centers.
l Remove all tape, labels, and non-foam parts. Clean foam is easier to recycle.
l Make sure the foam is dry and free of food or dirt. Dirty foam may be rejected.
l Break large pieces into smaller chunks. This helps fit more foam into bags or boxes.
l If possible, use a compactor or densifier to reduce the foam’s size. Some businesses use machines like the RUNI screw compactor, which can shrink foam by up to 50 times.
l Pack the prepared EPS in clear bags or boxes for drop-off or shipping.
Following these steps helps recycling centers process foam quickly and keeps the recycling stream clean.
Recycling expanded polystyrene is good for people and the earth.
l EPS has a lot of air, so it fills space but is not heavy.
l Special machines make recycling faster and simpler.
l Recycling uses less energy, makes less pollution, and keeps foam away from landfills and water.
l Local programs and new tools help more people recycle EPS each year.
Everyone can help by looking for local recycling and getting foam ready the right way.
Most clean, white EPS packaging can go to recycling. If EPS is dirty from food or has color, it usually cannot be recycled. Recycling centers only take certain kinds of EPS. You should always look at your local rules before you recycle.
EPS recycling keeps foam out of landfills. It helps save resources and cuts down on pollution. Recycling lets people make new things from old foam. This helps the circular economy work better.
Recycled EPS is used to make new things like picture frames, insulation boards, and packing materials. Factories use densified EPS to create these products. This helps lower waste and saves energy.
People can look online to find local drop-off spots or recycling programs. Many city websites show what items they take. Some companies let you mail back EPS foam for recycling.
Tip: Always make sure EPS is clean and dry before recycling for the best results.
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Liangfeng Packaging Industrial Zone, Yangshe Town, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, China.
