Is Styrofoam environmentally friendly?

Styrofoam (also known under the names Airpop®, EPS, Styrofoam, ...) is 100% recyclable into new Styrofoam.
into new polystyrene foam. This is already happening on a large scale, but it can be done even better. Because Styrofoam is a valuable raw material that can be reused for 100% with little added energy.

The material is completely harmless to the environment. This applies to both the material itself and the
production process. Airpop® has a very good life cycle assessment. The energy consumption during production is lower than for other insulation materials. The entire global EPS industry only uses 0.16% of the oil production. On the other hand, less than one barrel of oil is needed to insulate an entire house and its entire lifespan is optimally insulated, which means a multiple of energy savings. Airpop® has a long lifespan and is an excellent and effective monomaterial for recycling into new polystyrene foam. It is CFC-free.

What if we compare it to cardboard?

Many people think that it is more environmentally friendly to pack and ship products in cardboard.
shipping. After all, cardboard is made of cellulose from wood pulp and is 'therefore' environmentally friendly?
It is also easy to recycle. Styrofoam is also perfectly recyclable. In addition, as a
In addition, as a packaging material it has a number of other excellent properties. The protective and
The protective and shock absorbing qualities of airpop® are far superior to those of any other
packaging materials. Airpop® is also insensitive to humidity. We look at the entire chain:
from production to delivery to the customer. Transport damage limitation plays an important role in this
role. It has been proven time and again that products packaged in Airpop® do not incur any damage during transport.
This saves a lot of raw materials, energy and a lot of extra kilometres. Bear in mind that replacing your new, damaged
of your new, damaged TV does not come from your local shop but from the Far East. 

And if we take the entire life cycle of polystyrene and cardboard into account?

Logistics professionals also look at the life cycle analysis (LCA) of the packaging itself. This includes things like the total energy consumption required to make the packaging, the weight and volume it adds to the load, and the possibility of easily recycling the packaging after use. Here again, polystyrene scores at least as well as cardboard. To manufacture and recycle paper, besides a large amount of fresh water, 70 to 115 percent more energy is needed than for the production of airpop®, resulting in 3 to 4.5 times more CO2 emission (InFo Kunststoff, 1995).

Another common idea is that paper can be recycled endlessly. This is not the case. Paper and cardboard consist of fibres that shorten after each recycling until they can no longer be used. Usually this is after 6 to 8 times. After that, new material has to be added. Because airpop® is usually used higher up in the chain in its second life, it continues to save energy as an insulation material in buildings for decades after its first use. All households have to do is collect it like any other waste material. The choice to package it in cardboard is therefore based less on the facts than on the image that the consumer has.

The recycling of residual air-paper® in the Netherlands is improving all the time, but compared with the collection of glass, for example, it has remained underexposed among the general public. Nevertheless, in 2005, 54 percent of the residual EPS was collected. Eight years later, that figure is 64 percent in the Netherlands. That is a good performance compared to other plastics. In 2012, 42% of the residual EPS was recycled in the Netherlands. This means that airpop® is on the right track. The largest gains can still be achieved through household collection. Municipalities can play a major role in this respect. This is important, because used airpop® is not waste but a raw material that can save a lot of energy in its second life as a high-quality insulation material for years to come.

Why sort Styrofoam?

Residual airpop® is voluminous and weighs almost nothing. Therefore, it is inefficient to dispose of it through the
grey waste stream. Not only is this a waste of raw materials, it is also expensive. The processing
of a container of residual waste costs a lot of money. The container will soon be full of airpop® fragments. Municipalities are also
Municipalities are also increasingly aware of this fact. A municipality that collects EPS separately via the waste collection centre saves one full container for every 20 containers.
A municipality that collects EPS separately via the waste collection centre saves one full container for every 20 containers. Recycling will certainly be continued in the coming years.
will certainly be continued in the coming years.

How is polystyrene foam recycled?

Styrofoam is recycled in two ways: shredded or compressed. In the first case, the residual material is checked for foreign substances, then crumbled and ground down to the level of the original EPS beads. If necessary, they are filtered and sieved according to size. The resulting material can be mixed again with the production of new EPS without any further processing. This method is suitable for all airpop®, packaging, moulded parts and insulation material. The lion's share of the recovered EPS beads find their way into the insulation of homes, which actually gives them an added value. For example, it is upgraded from a protective layer to a high-quality insulator, saving a homeowner money on his gas bill throughout the life of his home!

In the second method, the collected residual airpop® is pressed. The advantage of this is that the polystyrene that is recovered can be transported in a compact manner as a raw material for the production of plastic parts. After use, these parts can easily be recycled again through the collection of plastics. As a result, airpop® and polystyrene can be reused just like metal and nothing goes to waste.

Summary from: http://stybenex.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/90771-EPS-Airpop-folder-3luik-V9-tbv-website.pdf

For more information about the environmental friendliness, please contact Stybenex, the association of EPS producers in the Netherlands.