Did you know? In 2019, more than 136 million pounds of EPS were recycled, which was 23 million more pounds than in 2018. A strong initiative and advancing technologies are paving the way to meet improved EPS recycling standards.
“EPS-IA has been committed to expanded polystyrene foam recycling advancements for over three decades. In 2019, EPS recycling trended upward as a result of expanded collection programs and major advancements in reprocessing technologies.” 2019 U.S. EPS Recycling Report
The report breaks down EPS recycling into two categories, which are post-use and post-industrial. “Post-use is defined as any material that is recycled after its intended end-use.” On the other hand, “post-industrial recovery includes EPS manufacturing scrap that is recycled but never served its intended purpose as a packaging material or other end use-application.” A total of 46.4 million pounds of EPS were recycled post-use in 2019; 90.4 million pounds of EPS were recycled post-industrial.
EPS can be recycled at certain drop-off centers. Each community has recycling guidelines for which plastics are allowed; find an EPS recycling location near you. If an EPS recycling center is not available in your area, EPS-IA sponsors a National Mail-Back Program. This program allows smaller quantities of EPS to be mailed via USPS or UPS to a regional location.
Plymouth Foam (PF) is committed to making the best environmentally responsible decisions, especially when it comes to the types of products we buy and the types of packaging we use. Contact Plymouth Foam directly at sales@plymouthfoam.com for a collaborative solution to meet your packaging and temperature sensitive storage needs.