Expanded polystyrene manufacturing has developed significantly over the past 20 years as a result of its many uses, including the creation of disposable trays, cups, packing materials, containers, and insulation boards for floors, walls, and roofs of structures.
Post-consumer expanded polystyrene (EPS) is recycled to crystal PS, although a smaller proportion is recycled back to EPS. Fumoso in Barcelona has installed a recycling facility to process scrap EPS into PS crystal granules for extrusion and injection molding. Fumoso has developed a pilot system for converting post-consumer EPS into clean, regassed micropellets for new EPS applications.
Expanded polystyrene building products can be made with recycled content. This is achieved by blending post-industrial EPS that has been passed through a grinder, which reduces the material back into individual bead-sized particles that are then reintroduced into the molding process. Technical considerations generally limit the level of recycled content loading from 10 to 20 percent to maintain the minimum performance standards, as specified in ASTM C578, “Standard Specification for Rigid, Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation.” However, specialized processes can incorporate higher recycled content levels.
In order to create new building materials like precast concrete blocks, other EPS waste can be reground and combined with concrete. Along with offering an alternative to landfill disposal, adding EPS regrind improves these applications' thermal performance. The utilization of recycled content EPS in co-mingled plastic items including decking, timber, and interior trim is another illustration.
Over 136 million pounds of EPS were recycled in 2019, the majority of which was reprocessed in a closed-loop system. Expanded polystyrene post-consumer packaging weighing 46 million pounds and post-industrial recovery weighing 90 million pounds are both recycled. Post-industrial recovery would comprise EPS plant scrap that is recycled and so diverted from the municipal solid waste stream. Post-consumer recycling is defined as any material that is recycled after its intended end-use as a consumer item.
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