Most people call polystyrene foam “Styrofoam.” But this is a trade name for a product invented by Dow Chemical about 60 years ago. Dow’s website is quick to point out that there isn’t a coffee cup, cooler, or packaging material in the world made from STYROFOAM. STYROFOAM is blue and is used in a variety of building materials, including insulation.
The recyclable Styrofoam is EPS #6 – packing support (not peanuts). People can use it to make various products.
If you want to recycle any EPS, please make sure it is clean, with no stickers, grease, dirt, tape, labels, etc. If it’s too difficult to remove a label or contaminant, simply break off the offending piece and recycle the rest. The recycler will chop up the EPS anyway and turn it into new packing material.
EPS is recycled into plastic raw material and reused for plastic products
