Can Styrofoam Be Recycled? Yes, Styrofoam can be recycled! It can be broken down into its original components of polystyrene beads and styrene-butadiene latex. These can then be remolded into new forms, such as egg cartons.
The recycling process is not the most time-efficient, but the result can save energy in production and reduce landfill waste by up to 80%. There are many ways that you can start recycling your Styrofoam today!
Table of Contents
What Is Styrofoam?
Styrofoam is a foam material made from polystyrene, also known as expanded polystyrene. Invented by Dow Chemical scientist Ray McIntire in 1941, it can be easily shaped into protective packaging and insulation for everything from industrial equipment to ice cream cartons.
Styrofoam is a type of plastic that can’t be recycled because the items are too difficult to break down without destroying them permanently. Usually, when recycling plastics, they can melt the whole item together before molding it again, but Styrofoam can’t do this because the polymer is so hard. It’s usually used once then thrown away until someone decides how best to get rid of it all at once, which isn’t happening right now due to what we know about climate change impacts.
Can Styrofoam Be Recycled?
Yes, foam can be recycled. The recycling process can turn it into things like carpet padding and ceiling tiles. To recycle styrofoam cups or containers, you need to clean them of any food residue – then chop the pieces up finely so they can fit in a machine that shaves off the plastic coating on each piece.
Then put all these little bits through an airlock with water at about 180 degrees F for 30 minutes. This melts away any remaining plastics while leaving behind the polystyrene beads, which can then be turned into insulation panels, pipe insulation, or other building materials!
Styrofoam can be recycled into insulation panels, pipe insulation, or other building materials – but it’s not easy because it takes 500 years to decompose in the environment!
To recycle styrofoam cups or containers, you need to clean them of any food residue – then chop the pieces up finely so they can fit in a machine that shaves off the plastic coating on each piece.
Besides this, what you can do is try to reuse it by upcycling it into DIY crafts.
Another option is to reuse styrofoam cups or containers by transferring your can food, like soup, from a microwavable container that has been used for one time only onto the styrofoam cup and then placing it in the microwave again!
Finally, we can also do this with paper coffee cups, but not because they are recyclable – plastic ones should be recycled instead.
Is Styrofoam Bad For The Environment?
Yes, Styrofoam is not suitable for the environment. It can take more than 100 years to decompose.
Styrofoam can also cause issues with the earth’s natural resources when fed into landfills because this can create a lot of pollution and waste that can’t be recycled easily. The chemicals in Styrofoam are not good for humans or animals, so they should never be consumed orally or injected into the body like insulin pumps. Inhalation can lead to pulmonary edema, which causes your lungs to fill up with fluid and tissue, as well as acute airway obstruction called “asthma.”
When styrene undergoes pyrolysis (burning), it produces benzene (a carcinogen), methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide compounds, and more styrene.
They can also pose a major problem for recycling because once collected from the garbage, most of its recyclable value is lost due to contamination with food residue and contact with other containers that have made their way into landfills or oceans. Contamination can be resolved by using biodegradable, non-toxic foam products, like cornstarch-based packaging.
Styrofoam can’t be recycled at all. To reduce waste, we should refrain from buying things packaged in Styrofoam containers and try our best to recycle anything else we may encounter before disposing of them. The only thing you can do when encountering Styrofoam is throwing it away. Like many other plastics, Styrofoam can’t be recycled.
Now you can realize how much dangerous it is to put styrofoam can in the sea. When you throw it away, it can’t be recycled, and when you send it to the ocean, the result will be the same – polluting the environment.
Styrofoam can also have adverse effects on animals in our oceans and humans who may consume said seafood if it has come into contact with water that contains plastic particles such as those from Styrofoam containers or packaging materials (i.e.,,, microplastics).
How To Recycle Styrofoam?
There are many ways you can recycle Styrofoam. The first is clean-up, which can be done by simply washing the foam with soapy water and scrubbing with a brush or sponge. The second is reusing it as insulation in walls, roofs, windowsills, and other home building projects that can benefit from this type of thermal protection. Thirdly you can use the warmed-up particles to pack damaged objects for shipping. The fourth way to recycle Styrofoam is by burning it in an industrial furnace where all the gas emissions are captured and reused rather than released into the atmosphere.
Besides these ways:
Find a drop-off site for Styrofoam in your area
By finding a drop-off site for Styrofoam, you can ensure that your recyclables will not end up in the landfill.
Styrofoam drop-off sites can vary from city to city and county to county, but most of them can be found at grocery stores or hardware stores such as Lowe’s Home Improvement Store. Consumers can also find plastic recycling centers for plastics other than styrene, which is what makes Styrofoam recognizable by its white color with silver sparkles on it.”
Take Styrofoam to Publix
You can recycle Styrofoam in the following ways:
- Take it to Publix for recycling.
- Put Styrofoam in a paper bag and drop it off at any local grocery store that can recycle plastic bags.
- Take old Styrofoam containers (clean) back to the place where you bought them from, such as your favorite fast-food restaurant or coffee shop.
You can also find more information on this topic by going online to carbonfund.org/styrene/#Styrenes_Environmental_Impact_. For additional resources, visit Earth911’s website, which offers tips on what can be recycled and how to go about doing so locally with regional maps of available recycling locations near you!
Set up your local program
If recycling EPS is difficult in your area, you can work with other people to start a recycling program. You may want to work with businesses and individual consumers. One way to do this is by starting a company like AFPR that will pick up the EPS from businesses or individuals who have collected a lot. If you are one of these people, you might also want to request a new place for pick-up if the current place doesn’t have enough space for all the material.
Most companies need to store their EPS (polystyrene) in an area that is clean, dry, and not exposed to the weather. Ask AFPR if it is okay to stack, bag, or bundle your Styrofoam products before collecting them for pick-up. If you have any Styrofoam products, EPS compactors can be used temporarily until a company collects them. This will make the collection process much easier.
Some people can get involved by donating their old electronics that can be recycled through eCycle – UBC’s electronic waste diversion program. This includes computers, monitors, printers, and televisions which can then be reused or disposed of properly if they cannot be repaired.
Make sure all EPS to be recycled is clean and free of contaminants before recycling.
Tape and labels can ruin the recycling process, so it is important to remove these before recycling. If you do not, the recycled material will end up in a landfill.
Where To Recycle Styrofoam?
There are many places where you can drop off Styrofoam, but you have to find them. Some grocery stores, like Publix, have a styrofoam collection receptacle where you can deposit cups and other items made of Styrofoam. You also might be able to take packing peanuts to mailing centers like UPS or PakMail. Earth911 has an online database for all sorts of items, including polystyrene.
EPS Industry Alliance has information on how to recycle empty packing peanuts. It can be expensive, but you can get it done. This website is full of information about the environmental impact of foam, but keep in mind they have a business interest.
Foam Facts is a website that provides information about polystyrene. It has all sorts of information on the impact on the environment and people’s health. But Foam Facts has its interest in the business, so be careful with what you trust.
Frequently asked questions:
Can you put Styrofoam in the recycling bin?
Yes, you can recycle Styrofoam in the recycling bin. You can recycle Styrofoam by taking it to a waste management center for disposal or using one of the privately-owned recycling centers that can accept Styrofoam items like packaging peanuts and cups. You can also use old polystyrene foam pieces to make new products, such as synthetic leather textiles.
Can I put these plastics into my curbside pickup box for recycling? Yes, but consumers should not just assume they can throw all plastics containing EPS (expanded plastic) into their curbside bins because municipalities vary on what type of plastics are accepted at each location.
How do you dispose of large Styrofoam?
Styrofoam can be recycled, and it is recommended that you recycle as much of the material as possible. The recycling process for Styrofoam can take up to 18 hours and can produce a “closed-cell” insulative foam product with the same properties as virgin Styrofoam. Such products are already used in insulation, building materials, packaging equipment padding, etc., so this should not present any problem. This closed-cell material can also be reused or reprocessed into new forms such as sheets, blocks, beads, or pellets, which will have similar characteristics to virgin styrene polystyrene foam because they are made from the original raw polymer source (Peterson 2002). It is important to avoid burning Styrofoam.
How do you recycle Styrofoam at home?
- The first step in recycling Styrofoam at home is to remove the food and liquid that can contaminate it.
- Next, you need to break up any large pieces of Styrofoam into small chunks so they can be recycled easier. If there are multiple colors on your styrofoam item, make sure each color has its pile before breaking them apart.
- Once your items have been broken down into smaller pieces, please place them in a plastic bag or container that can seal shut tightly, then take them directly to an appropriate facility for recyclables like local grocery stores or other retailers with bins available.
What can you do with old Styrofoam?
- Recycle it. Place your used dishes and food trays into a container, seal the lid tightly and place on the curbside for collection or take to recycling drop-off centers.
- Make an arts & crafts project out of recycled Styrofoam by cutting shapes from old foam cups, plates, or egg cartons, then use them in stuffed animals, snowman (with paint), coasters – anything creative!
- Donate it: You can also donate your used Styrofoam containers to organizations like Goodwill Industries, where they will be resold at local secondhand goods stores that offer items at affordable prices so people can afford these things, which might otherwise.
What will dissolve Styrofoam?
- Warm water can dissolve Styrofoam.
- Vinegar can also be used to break down the plastic and help it biodegrade.
The white vinegar contains acetic acid, which is very effective at breaking down polystyrene molecules. You must put a few drops of white vinegar in a warm liquid so that it can do its job! This process takes some time but will eventually lead to a complete breakdown of the Styrofoam pieces into small particles we call “Styropolymer,” or Polystyrene (PS). These fine particles can then become food for plants or animals in some cases.
Bottom Line:
We hope these answers to your common questions about recycling Styrofoam have helped. If you still have any other queries, don’t hesitate to contact us, and we will be happy to answer them for you. As always, please feel free to share this post so that others can benefit from the information too!
