Survey Reports 61 Million Pounds of Expanded Polystyrene Transport Packaging Recycled

A survey conducted by Resource Recycling Systems reports that 61 million pounds of expanded polystyrene (EPS) transport packaging was recycled in 2022, 31% of the 200 million pounds of EPS resin sales for custom shape-molded applications.

Transport packaging is described as postconsumer if it has reached the intended recipient and is at its end of life. EPS recovery occurs mostly between businesses rather than from homes via curbside programs. The majority is secondary packaging EPS that is removed after distribution and collected from regional distribution centers, retailers, laboratories and manufacturing assembly plants.

“Because EPS recycling primarily occurs behind the scenes with independent contracts to supply recycled content feedstock and overseas sales of EPS recyclate, many people don’t realize how much is actually being recycled,” says Betsy Bowers, executive director at the EPS Industry Alliance (EPS-IA). “The fact that we’re diverting a significant amount of material from landfills shows the real impact of these channels, which aren’t as visible to the public as curbside recycling.”

According to the EPS-IA, investments in infrastructure and recycling technologies have created alternative streams for EPS that have continued to grow. Meanwhile, EPS drop-off locations have been increasing, with 60 added last year.

The Foam Recycling Coalition awards grants which have expanded access to EPS recycling by supporting the purchase of densifiers. The densifiers are key to compacting EPS, as they are designed to handle the deflection that makes it difficult to process in ordinary compactors. Between 2019 and 2023, the amount of foam polystyrene collected by grant-supported programs rose from 841,000 to 1.6 million pounds.

The EPS-IA provides the American EPS Recycling Map, a guide to drop-off locations. Many drop-off locations are used by a variety of entities, including nearby governments, companies and individual consumers.