This article was posted on April 22, 2014, by Insulation Corporation of America (ICA) – a Women-Owned manufacturer of Geofoam and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), which is commonly but mistakenly referred to as Styrofoam™. ICA is located in Allentown, PA and services the entire Mid-Atlantic Region from Virginia to Maine to Ohio.
There are two common misconceptions of expanded polystyrene, (EPS).
The first one – that it’s called Styrofoam™. Styrofoam™ is a Dow trade name and is actually blue in color.
The second one – it is not recyclable. It is indeed recyclable and has many uses in its recycled state.
There is no need for EPS foam to end up in landfills. It can go back into the manufacturing process of foam blocks or packaging or it can be compacted and densified to create totally new products.
Densified EPS foam is reincarnated into such products as coat hangers, garbage cans, plant pots, garden furniture, disposable cameras, park benches, picture frames, cd cases, cassette casings, glue and much more.
The following video by Moore Recycling Associates takes you through the recycling process. Also concluded in this video investigation by Todd Sutton, the Waste Sleuth, the demand for the recycled product exceeds the current supply.
So the next time you have some scrap EPS, check with your local community for the nearest expanded polystyrene recycling location or use the recycling center locator provided by the EPS Industry Alliance.
We recycle EPS in-house at ICA – read our recycling rules.
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