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December 24, 2011

Steady Increases in Recycling rate of EPS Packaging Material

DENVER, CO — (Marketwire) — 12/13/11 — The recently released 2010 EPS Recycling Rate Report conducted by the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) demonstrates steady growth in the amount of Expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging recycling : 

EPS recycling ratesince the 1990s. AFPR releases recycling rates every 2 years. Total EPS recycling increased to 71.3 million pounds in 2010. A total of 28% of all post-consumer and post-commercial EPS was recycled in 2010, an increase of 3.5 million pounds over the 19.5% recycling rate in 2008 — one of the highest recycling rates among all plastics products.

 

Post-commercial and post-consumer packaging is any material that is recycled after its intended end-use. 2010 marks the highest post-consumer & post-commercial recycling rate for the industry since the inception of the recycling rate report in 1990. The report illustrates that EPS recycling has reached a stable baseline of incremental growth and end-use market developments.

“ACH Foam Technologies alone recycled about 4 million pounds of both post-industrial and post-consumer EPS in 2010,” said Todd Huempfner, VP of Operations. “Considering that EPS is 98% air, this is a huge volume or material.” ACH Foam Technologies has become actively involved in assisting companies with their recycling needs, as reflected by the company’s large volume of recycled material.

“We have taken a holistic approach to servicing our customers by offering our recycling capabilities and serving as a valuable recycling resource. We provide them with information about how to locate a large volume recycler when we are not able to accommodate their needs,” said Erich Brandt, Senior VP Sales & Marketing. “In addition, ACH Foam has been working with AFPR which has put together information for packaging & OEM customers about how to set up their own recycling program.” AFPR has assisted companies such as Ethan Allen, GM, Crate & Barrel, and NASA.

Sanofi pasteur has partnered with AFPR to develop a successful collaborative EPS recycling program. EPS has proved to be an environmental material choice, according to Bill Tarabek, director, U.S. distribution for sanofi pasteur. “Unlike material such as paper, EPS does not degrade and will not leach any substances into groundwater, nor will it form harmful gases. Sanofi pasteur developed a Return and Recycle Program for our customers who prefer to recycle.”

Since January 2008, sanofi pasteur has offered its U.S. customers a prepaid mail-back recycling program that works through its partnership with AFPR. Sanofi pasteur’s customers — physicians and healthcare providers — who receive EPS shippers containing their medical supplies are provided with tape strips and a shipping label. They simply empty the EPS container, tape the lid closed, apply the label and give it to their courier for shipment to a recycler.

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December 22, 2011

What end products can be produced from recycled EPS?

Recycled EPS packaging can be used either to make more packaging, or to make other products. In
order to make more packaging it is granulated and blended with virgin EPS foam beads to make new
EPS mouldings. It can also be blended with virgin crystal polystyrene and re-gassed to make EPS
loose fill packaging.

Other products that can be made from recycled ESP include:
• Video and CD cases
• Coat hangers
• Plant pots
• Hardwood replacement – used for garden furniture, picture frames and so on.

 

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December 1, 2011

Strautmann CutCompact®

EPS holds alot of air. This is a problem for stockable and transportation costs. On account of these problems Strautmann has designed a compact Briquetting Presses – the CutCompact®.

A reduction  volume of  up to 98% (Density up to 700 kg/cbm) enables a fully truck and container load. The Bricketts can be marketed without transport problems on a regional level or worldwide.

The Shredder has a througput up to 100 kg/h. The wide filling opening (approx. 120 x 120 cm) enables the input of big EPS shapes who will be shreddered by the six shredding shafts. Conveying screws are move the shredderes EPS the the expandable buffer. The press chamber compacts the Material with up to 30 kg/h to very dense briquettes by a pressing force of 250 kN.

The density of the briquettes enables a 100% truck and container load!

 

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November 15, 2011

An Overview on Recycling polystyrene

By Maryruth Belsey Priebe

With a reputation for being hard to recycle, polystyrene, or PS plastic, is another type you should be worried about if you want to clean-up your waste bin and keep plastics from the environment. Used for foam cups and plates, as packing material, in CD containers, and even toys, PS plastic is everywhere, but recycling options are few and far between. Never fear, however. Ecolife has the best recycling PS tips to get you sorting these plastics out of your rubbish pile and into the recycling stream.

Environmental facts about plastic #6

True, polystyrene is a lightweight plastic that requires less energy to make and transport, but it still comes with a few environmental woes that will make you want to think twice about using it in your everyday life:

  • Aliases: Known alternately as polystyrene, PS, foam, expanded polystyrene (EPS), or by the trademark “Styrofoam.”
  • Consumption rates: PS is one of the only types of plastic going down in terms of consumption – its consumption has been reduced 9% from 1974 to 1999. Recycling rates have also increased a fair bit and close to 30% of all PS packing peanuts are reused rather than recycled or trashed.
  • Pollution: Polystyrene plastics are incredibly lightweight (made of primarily air) which means they’re prone to landing in wild spaces and the ocean where they pose threats to wildlife and natural ecosystems.
  • Human health: There are concerns that styrene from polystyrene food containers can migrate from the foam into the food or beverage, posing health problems for those consuming the product.
  • Decomposition: As with most things in landfills, polystyrene doesn’t generally biodegrade over time. Instead, it just forms a lumpy mess that can form leachate and pollute groundwater as a result.

Read the rest of this entry »

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October 23, 2011

How to Recycle PS 6 Styrofoam

Styrofoam recyclePS 6 Styrofoam, also known as Polystyrene, commonly takes the form of packing material, arriving in parcels to households across the globe. Unlike paper packing, Polystyrene cannot be thrown away and expected to break down quickly in the earth’s soil. The eco-friendly option is to recycle the Polystyrene.

Instructions

    • 1

      Check the foam for a triangle symbol with a 6 stamped in its middle to identify that the product is Polystyrene. The triangle represents the recycling logo, and the number 6 identifies the product as Polystyrene.

    • 2

      Go to Earth911.com. This is a website that specializes in finding recycling centers for specific products in any given area of the USA. The website is dedicated to the topic of recycling and provides much information on the easiest way to recycle particular products.

    • 3

      Enter “Polystyrene” into the “Find Recycling Centers For…” box at Earth911.com. To the right of that box, enter your location in the “Near…” box. Click the “Search” button to see a list of all the recycling centers near you that accept Polystyrene.

    • 4

      Drive, bike or bus the Polystyrene to the recycling center recommended by Earth911. If this is not an option, the Alliance of Foam Packing Recyclers has a mail-back program for residents of the U.S. At epspackaging.org, one can find a link to the nearest mail-back location where the Polystyrene can be sent. There will be a small cost for postage, but most likely a smaller amount than what would be spent on gas driving to the recycling center.

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October 10, 2011

How to Recycle PS Plastic

How to Recycle PS Plastic

PS plastic recycle

Lower your impact on the Earth by recycling PS plastics comprehensively.

PS plastic stands for polystyrene. Polystyrene is most easily identified by the small number “6″ on the bottom of the item. It’s a hard plastic resin that’s sometimes transparent and is made into CD jackets, aspirin bottles and dishware. It is recyclable, but many small recycling plants don’t take it in curbside recycling because of the effort required to process it. Once recycled, PS can become, among other things, egg cartons, foam products, insulation and thermometers.

Instructions

    • 1

      Call your local recycling center for its plastics recycling capabilities. If you have curbside pickup, the center probably sent a brochure with details about the plastics you can recycle. If it takes all plastics — many large cities such as Boston and New York do — put the PS plastic out with your regular curbside recycling.

    • 2

      Request an alternate location from the recycling center if it doesn’t accept PS recycling. The center will have the number and address of any other recycling centers that can process the PS plastics.

    • 3

      Take the PS plastics to the recycling center or alternate location and drop it off for recycling.

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