Polystyrene Products and Recycling 

Polystyrene Packaging Council (PSPC)

source: http://www.polystyrene.org 23jul01

Recycling of Polystyrene
Please note that due to present economic conditions, polystyrene food service packaging is generally not recycled. Polystyrene protective packaging and non-packaging non-durables (i.e., video/audio cassettes, agriculture trays, etc.) are the primary forms of polystyrene collected for recycling. There has been a decrease in the amount of polystyrene food service packaging recycled during this period. Non-food service packaging is not contaminated with food and other wastes as is food service polystyrene packaging, and therefore is more cost-effective to recycle. Presently, food service polystyrene packaging is not recycled because it is not economically sustainable. It is important to note that because of unfavorable economics, no other post-consumer foodservice disposable material, including paper and paperboard, is recycled in a measurable way.

Products
Polystyrene is found in your home, office, local grocery and in the cafeteria. It comes in many shapes and forms, from foam egg cartons and meat trays, to soup bowls and salad boxes, from coffee cups and utensils to CD "jewel boxes," and from produce trays to "peanuts" used in packing and the lightweight foam pieces that cushion new appliances.

Nothing else offers the combination of strength, lightness and durability to protect valuable objects from crystal to computers, from morning coffee to salad at lunch, from your children to you!

When polystyrene foam packaging is produced, a blowing agent is used in the process. Most polystyrene foam products never were made using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a blowing agent. The few polystyrene products that were made with CFCs comprised a very small portion of the nation's CFC use. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only two to three percent of CFCs used in the United States in the 1980s went toward production of polystyrene packaging products.

[Polystyrene] contains substances that can "migrate," or transfer, to foods or beverages. The FDA regulates residual levels of these components in food packaging to ensure that packaging is safe to use.

Styrene, a petroleum by-product, is the primary raw material from which polystyrene is made. Styrene, first commercially produced in the 1930s, played an important role during World War II in the production of synthetic rubber. After the war, much of the use of styrene shifted to the manufacture of commercial polystyrene products. Synthetic styrene is also used in the manufacture of products such as automobile parts, electronic components, boats, recreational vehicles, and synthetic rubbers. Today, you or a member of your family will probably use a product derived from styrene.

Blah, blah, blah. . .
Solid polystyrene is used in products such as cutlery, yogurt and cottage cheese containers, cups, clear salad bar containers and video and audiocassette housings. Schools, hospitals, nursing homes, supermarkets, restaurants and sports stadiums are among the many institutions and businesses that rely on polystyrene packaging. Grocery stores use polystyrene in virtually all meat and poultry trays. In addition, polystyrene packaging can be found in egg cartons and a variety of produce packages, such as apple trays, mushroom tills, tomato containers, and strawberry and grape crates. Polystyrene foam contributes to the success of programs such as "Meals on Wheels," which serve millions of senior Americans. Today's busy lifestyles require the convenience of affordable and quick take-out meals. Polystyrene packaging meets the demands of today's modern lifestyles by offering an economical and high quality food service product. Polystyrene food service products are generally more economical to use than disposable paperboard products and reusable food service items. The wholesale price of polystyrene disposable food service products is often approximately two to three times less than an equivalent disposable paper container, and four to five times less than a comparable reusable food service item when the costs of equipment, labor, water, electricity, and detergent costs are included. This allows schools, hospitals and other institutions to make better use of their limited budgets. Its light weight helps reduce shipping costs. Its cushioning ability reduces breakage, resulting in fewer damaged goods.

Between 1974 and 1997, the amount of polystyrene packaging diverted from landfills steadily increased due to continued source reduction, eliminating the need for more than 2,900 billion pounds of polystyrene over the 24-year period. ("Waste Management and Reduction Trends in the Polystyrene Industry, 1974-1997," Franklin Associates, August 1999.)

Resources provided by polystyrene.org

(1) "Disposables versus Reusables: A Study of Comparative Sanitary Quality," Dairy Food and Sanitation, Jan, 1985; "Utensil Sanitation: A Microbiological Study of Disposables and Reusables," Charles W. Felix, et al, Sept./Oct. 1990.

(2) "Single Service and Solid Waste" Resolution, National Environmental Health Assn. Board of Directors, June 1991.

(3) "Waste Management and Reduction Trends in the Polystyrene Industry, 1974-1997," Franklin Associates, Aug. 1999.

(4) "Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States -- 1998. Update," prepared for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by Franklin Associates, August 1999.

(5) "Rubbish! The Archeology of Garbage," William Rathje and Cullen Murphy, 1989.

(6) "Petroleum Supply Annual -- 1997," U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, June 1998 and "Annual Energy Review -- 1997," U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, July 1998.

(7) See: FDA's Food Additive Regulation at 21 CFR 172.515

(8) "Disposables versus Reusables: A Study of Comparative Sanitary Quality," Dairy Food and Sanitation, Jan. 1985.

(9) "Statement of Support for The Foodservice Packaging Institute's Fully Halogenated Chlorofluorocarbon Voluntary Phaseout Program," Natural Resources Defense Council/Environmental Defense Fund/Friends of the Earth, April 1988.