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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.
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.
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