By Kate Tilley
CORRESPONDENT
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA — An Australian expanded polystyrene recycler can double exports to China and South Korea if its owner can convince more retailers to hand over EPS waste.
Polystyrene Recycling Queensland, a unit of Brisbane-based Global Interests Pty. Ltd., operates five granulators at electrical goods
EPS Compactor
retail outlets in Queensland and northern New South Wales, which shrink waste EPS volume by 66 percent. The granules are transported to PRQ’s compacting plant, nine miles south of Brisbane’s central business district, where they are compacted into recyclable EPS logs and shipped to Asia.
Leo Sines, PRQ owner and managing director, said PRQ ships a container of EPS logs weighing up to 17 tons each week to Chinese and Korean manufacturers. Those manufacturers process it into various products, including photo frame molds, coat hangers, synthetic timbers, and spoons and cutlery. Read more
The answer depends on several factors and should be considered relative to the level of technology utilized during production as well as that of the landfill in which it ends up. According to a production research study initiated by Franklin Associates (33 year-old life cycle analysis and solid waste management firm), polystyrene’s production can be less harmful to the environment than paper production.
Lightweight
Over the past 20 years, the establishment of local recycling programs, in conjunction with recycling initiatives from large companies that regularly deal with EPS, such as Wal-Mart, have proven that creative and collaborative solutions produce positive results.
