Sustainability isn’t always simple. For American consumers, the choice to recycle generally comes down to a willingness to sort designated materials from trash and help get them off to a material recovery facility by placing them in a curbside bin. On the commercial level, the potentially significant volume of recyclable materials obviously requires some cost analysis, but responsible businesses of all purposes and sizes are actively recycling whatever they can. For most recyclable materials, plastic codes molded or printed on the product are all one needs to know if it can be recycled based on what is accepted at the local material recovery facility. Yet, there is one code, #6, that still isn’t quite so simple. From a variety of perspectives, finding ways to improve the reusability performance of this important sustainable material is critical.
Polystyrene, #6, is a synthetic aromatic polymer made from styrene, which is one of the most widely used plastics and can be found in everything—compact disc cases, toys, simple household goods, protective packaging, beverage coolers and rigid commercial insulation. The wide range of products certainly doesn’t help reduce confusion about which products can be recycled. The look, feel and weight of #6 plastics is so different that even with the number imprinted on them, it’s hard to recognize a foam cooler and a cd case as being made from the same material. Perhaps the most unique and versatile of all the forms of #6 is expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly referred to as Styrofoam™, which is actually a trademarked brand of extruded polystyrene made by Dow Chemical. EPS is a rigid, closed-cell foam that makes an ideal protective packaging for many types of fresh fruit, produce, seafood, eggs and meat because of its dual ability to cushion delicate contents and maintain desired thermal temperatures during transport and cold storage.