Comments on: How can I reuse or recycle … moulded polystyrene?

By: jerry

jerry — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:03:59 +0000

Never put it in your walls or ceiling. It is EXTREAMLY FLAMIBLE AND TOXICWHEN IT BURNS IF YOU EVER HAVE A HOUSE FIRE….

By: tim

tim — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:29:18 +0000

Seems like most people that complain about the use and recycling properties of EPS cannot write or spell (to do a google search) or cannot read (to educate themselves regarding the recycling of polystyrene) or simply do not have electricity on at their house so cannot use their computer (due to trying to reduce their carbon footprint beyond that of an ant – goodness knows what they do when they fart). The truth is that all plastics can be recycled – and recycling them would reduce the need to produce more from (the most feared word) OIL. The most sensible comment made above (other than comments from those people involved in the polystyrene processing industry) is to designate somewhere in your local area (a transfer station) that all this can be dropped off free of charge for pick up by recycling companies…

By: jillian

jillian — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:31:12 +0000

I like this idea…it works very well! We did it recently to save on caulk, after realizing the “caulk saver” sold in stores is a tube of polystyrene. We had enough of that crap at home!

By: sonofsilence

sonofsilence — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:25:31 +0000

What’s deadly about the word “it”?

By: JCL

JCL — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:46:40 +0000

Be careful re-using polystyrene!
*Especially* for insulation. Polystyrene is highly flammable and building codes/regs in US/EU require a flame retardent barrier and sometimes the polystyrene itself to be treated.. Plus far as I remember there is Extruded and Expanded polystyrene types. One is water permeable and less dense than the other and (I forget which) but the one used for electrical packaging is the one least suited to building/construction use.
That said polystyrene is a very good insulator and there are commercially available concrete enclosed forms/blocks, etc that use polystyrene which meet fire safety regs. A google search gives lots of examples of fires due to polystyrene.
Avoid trying to reduce it using solvents. But if you must then wear protective gear and do so in a well ventilated location – the process will release some pretty nasty toxins. Same for burning – combustion is incomplete and releases carcinogens..
Store your polystyrene safely and securely – it will play havoc on your pets digestive system and could be fatal if ingested.

By: bobbie

bobbie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:21:38 +0000

I’d like to brake it into little balls fillings for bean bags anyone know were i can get to done

By: Mick un Em

Mick un Em — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:42:10 +0000

I’ve just replied to your first post about EPS. =o)
EPS seem’s to be the best option for us, its just a shame our nearest depot is 40 miles away.
But we will probably do the trip.
Thanks again.

By: Mick un Em

Mick un Em — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:38:38 +0000

EPS is just what we need right now.
We’ve just finished puting up three falt packs of furniture from Next. They were welll packaged in big cardboard boxes and lots of poloystyrene =o/
I started braking it all up and puting it in to black bags for the dustman, not what i wanted to do at all, for one thing it would of probably been over ten bags, and the thought of all that crap going in the ground is frightning.
So i googled “recycle poloystyrene” and found this great site.
I’m about 40 miles from the nearest EPS Depot =o/ which is a shame, but we will probably make the trip.
Many thanks to all who have posted.

By: alison mccullough

alison mccullough — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:13:36 +0000

Some great ideas guys, I’m really glad I clicked on here, thanks.

Could also try this website I’ve just found: http://www.eps.co.uk/packaging/recycling/recycling_1a_compacted.htm. Then click on “EPS recyclers”, to see if you are near one. (EPS = Expanded PolyStyrene apparently).

I might grind mine up and add to the soil in the garden to help drainage or insulate the loft. Love the idea of all sending it to one place all at once to make an impact. Also it’s bringing out all sorts of creativity in people, which is one positive.

But definitely store it while you come up with a solution, binning is for quitters!!!

By: Bridget

Bridget — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:09:03 +0000

Here is a good idea for recycling polystyrene – look in the yellow pages for the companies that advertise those manmade rocks for landscaping/water features etc. They use crushed up polystyrene mixed with other goodies. We stock ours up and then phone them, and they come and collect. Hope that helps…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:16:13 +0000

Would you be interested in recycling waste directly from consumsers?

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:52:47 +0000

Try this. It is fantastic bit of kit if you generate quantities of polystyrene

http://www.styromelt.com/

By: PAUL

PAUL — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:44:36 +0000

Hi all,

I own a business that recycles polystyrene. we use 5 40ft loads of scap a week but need more! most comes from the manufacture of it but i am now looking into collecting from the larger companys that uses it in packaging there products. maybe in the future you will be able to take it back to the shops you buy from. email is playtimeukltd@aol.com if any of this is interst to anyone.

By: Imogen

Imogen — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:10:07 +0000

Post it to your minister for environment together with a note calling for it to be banned – needs to be done on a campaign scale (hmm carbon footprint though … but would be worth it on balance if it worked)

By: msd

msd — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:42:20 +0000

polystyrene is a great insulator. I read an R rating of 3.5 per 3cm. With this in mind i collected all the boxes of about 2.5cm in thickness from the local markets. things like broccoli is transported with ice in them.
I used a very hot knife to cut up the boxes in to flat sections and insulated my entire roof with 5cm of polystyrene.
The vapor of from the knife is not to be breathed but it saved me the mess of crumbled boxes.

Free home insulation low heating costs and recycling. Yay im collecting now to put behind the new plastering we are doing of our walls.

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:16:34 +0000

My mother used it to keep ice from her pond in the winter, and keep her baby fish warm!!!

By: Sofia

Sofia — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:02:15 +0000

Maybe the responsibility should lie with the manufacturer. So when we buy something i.e. t.v. we send it back to the shop and they send it back to the warehouse and finally they send it back to the factory which in turn send the packaging back to where it cake from. Basically we should put pressure on the retailer to return the packaging.

By: Sofia

Sofia — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:58:29 +0000

I think that the most important thing is to store it somewhere whilst we are deciding what to do with it..don’t you think?

By: Sofia

Sofia — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:54:00 +0000

I do have one idea of my own if anyone would care to hear…

Maybe we should all decide here…once and for all… where it should go…

and send it there.

That would be very decisive, wouldn’t it?

By: Sofia

Sofia — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:49:45 +0000

Isn’t it funny how the only interesting post on this site was drowned by stupid ramblings…

This is a great answer and the only relevant answer to the question at hand:

5183457
September 17th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
here is an idea… brake it down into rally small pieces and use it for insulation. polystyrene is a fantastic insulant and you can fill your walls or your ceilings with it. if your renevating your home you will save a ton of money, on you insulation and you keeping this thing out of the landfills. remeber, you can never have too much insulation. note that newer polystyrene will not burn, it self extinguishes.

By: Zaria

Zaria — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:23:36 +0000

I’ve used small piece of polystyrene to mount pictures on the wall in an interesting way: you glue a flat piece on to the back of a picture; better if it’s on reasonably thick paper, then bang nails into the wall and simply push the nail heads into the polystyrene on the back of your picture. The finished effet is that the picture appears to float slightly off the wall and it looks very chic: you have to be careful wiht the light and shadow in the room, and it sometimes helps to pain the nails the same colour as the wall so they don’t show.

By: marigold

marigold — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:33:30 +0000

my hens love to eat it, which horrifies me. they actively seek it out if we have some around. craaazzzzy chooks. however, it hasn’t done them any obvious harm (tho we wont eat the eggs after they have eaten it). i’m curious as to what their bodies turn it into…..

By: Alison

Alison — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:00:38 +0000

These people seem to accept EPS for recycling (though of course you have to get it to them – hence greater carbon footprint): http://www.expanded-polystyrene-recycling.co.uk

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:02:36 +0000

I would be careful of using it as insulation polystyrene reacts with the pvc coating of electrical wires making the wire go sticky and generally look melted, this does take a long time, years, but people tend not to check the wiring in the attic for years either, take advice from an electrician, or at least wrap cables in something protective before burying under packing chips/blocks

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:43:00 +0000

Hi
We have ton’s of old polystyrene blocks (5ft by 3ft by 2ft at least) from an old pontoon. We have no idea how to recyle or even ‘get rid of’ in a green or non green way that remotely resembles cost effective. Any suggestions welcome…
missjpeg@hotmail.com (genuine email please dont laugh)

By: Rubin

Rubin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:50:38 +0000

Hello,

The major problem for me with pretty much all of these answers are that i live in a shared house with one room to myself and no garden. Ideally I need a recycling plant to do anything with polystyrene but there isnt one around to my knowledge. I have limited space and try to keep my room as minimal as possible. If there isnt a solution for true recycling then it should be banned, end of. Im surprised it hasnt been already!

By: Jules

Jules — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:17:01 +0000

Why not use it in the bottom of pot plants to help with drainage? That’s what I’ve done in the past.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:00:38 +0000

Hi,

I’m concerned that someone on a village recycling committee is having this attitutde! If committees set up to deal with recycling think throwing stuff away is acceptable we’re all in big trouble. What about the manta of reduce, reuse or recycle. Everything can be used in one way or another. As for saying that Polystrene is not casuing any damage to environment????? erm well where shall i start, how about the extraction of the petroleum to create it, the energy use in making it, the simple fact that it is filling up landfill and that it will take about a million years for it to rot down and turn back into the carbon it came from. I can’t believe on a recycling website such comments are even being made?

By: Darren L

Darren L — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 18:11:44 +0000

Hi, peter_gooch_loves_men1234 – I love the name, by the way. I’m sure peter is thrilled to bits as well.
Anyway, i’m Darren and I run a recycling committee in my village. We beleive that some items/substances take a large effort to recycle and will not overly damage the environment we live in.
So I think Ryan makes a fair point when he says those ‘three deadly words’, and although you are very correct in saying that this is a recycling-based website, there are some items, the ‘binning’ of which is acceptable.
I am also a member of this larger committee and have been for over a year now – we always love to have new members join the fight against landfill destroying the planet
http://www.fpm.iastate.edu/recycling/
Thanks for reading,
Darren L
Sheffield

By: peter_gooch_loves_men1234

peter_gooch_loves_men1234 — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:44:12 +0000

ryan, this is a recylcing website, and you used the 3 deadly words….. THROW IT AWAY! I cyber slap you biatch