Because polystyrene is a plastic that is formed from styrene (a liquid hydrocarbon), it is not able to be recycled. Here’s the low-down…. The UK uses 275,000 tonnes of plastic every year. The Issues with Cardboard That No One is Talking About! Chances are you will notice just as many general waste bins with black bags of rubbish for the landfill that also has polystyrene in it. No thank you, expanded polystyrene - including take-away food containers - isn’t commonly recycled and should be placed in the general bin. Polystyrene recycling drop off stations are available through many Councils across Sydney and Melbourne at a range of locations. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is a lightweight, rigid cellular plastic that is used widely as a packaging medium. Business Waste » Plastic Waste Management » Polystyrene Recycling. Panic buying on the rise due to the uncertainty of Brexit.We’ll forgive you if had forgotten that the Brexit deadline is looming, but panic buying at the thought of gridlock at the Channel Ports can only lead to one thing: MASSIVE food waste.But as the UK prepares to leave the EU, one Brit… Read more », Why are you still sending Christmas cards? Customer Service from the staff is outstanding. Facilities that recycle EPS often operate at a loss due to contamination and density of the material. Due to its light weight, it also gets caught up in the paper/cardboard stream, causing contamination. Polystyrene can’t be recycled from your kerbside recycling bin, however many councils still make it possible for you to help the environment and recycle polystyrene. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) takes up a lot of space in landfills, weighs very little and like all plastic products is durable. Plastic #6/Styrofoam itself is challenging to recycle, adding to the issue most household Styrofoam is contaminated with food and oils making it unable to be recycled anyways. Furthermore, it is not the easiest item to recycle. Expanded polystyrene should be placed in the waste bin. We are a leading Waste Management company helping businesses in the UK save money on their Waste Collection Services. The impact of polystyrene use should be considered carefully, and alternatives sought out where possible. The machinery required to do this would be costly and difficult to build. And around 100 tonnes of EPS are recycled every month in the UK. It also contaminates recyclable materials in your yellow lid recycling as it breaks up into many small pieces. You could also reuse polystyrene for packaging, beanbags or drainage in plant pots. Contaminated polystyrene – containing food, organic matter or construction debris; Coloured polystyrene; Strapping; Plastic film or foam wrapping; Peanut shaped loose foam packaging; Labels or tape; Advice for households. The main thing to remember is to wash it before you put it out to be recycled. When considering the impact of polystyrene on the environment, one must acknowledge that polystyrene tends to be a disposable product, which can result in millions of tonnes of polystyrene heading to landfill each year. However, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is 100% recyclable. And can businesses recycle it if they can find the right service? video, MORE : When is the royal wedding – date, time and Meghan Markle wedding dress predictions, Get your need-to-know browser that Can polystyrene be recycled: Commercial collections for expanded polystyrene recycling: Waster can provide recycling bin services for expanded polystyrene and soft plastics. Go outside on recycling day and you’ll see lots of recycling bins and cartons with polystyrene items in them. Tag Archives: Polystyrene Recycling Bin. However, some councils do have facilities to recycle expanded polystyrene, and some retailers will take away your polystyrene packaging to reuse themselves. Household waste recycling centre (HWRC) Some councils accept polystyrene at household waste recycling centres. Great reduction in the danger POSEd TO MARINE lifestyles. Polystyrene is a type 6 plastic and can be rigid or foamed, each with a variety of applications. Definitely recommend 100%. EPS is often used in food and drink containers. Rubbish Bin. Lake Macquarie City Council. Polystyrene is a type of plastic which is not commonly recycled. latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more, Brexit is officially finalised as Britain leaves the EU single market. Food waste to rise during Brexit panic buying, BusinessWaste.co.uk makes prestigious Sunday Times Fast Track list. 09 Jul. During 2018/19 over 5,800 tonnes of EPS was recycled throughout Australia and we are working closely with local authorities and businesses across the country to see this figure increased. Many EPSA members also accept clean EPS scrap for recycling. It is usually transparent, although it can have colour added to it, and it can be either solid or foam in form. Please contact us in this regard. Privacy Policy – Terms & Conditions – Site Map - Business Waste is a Trademark of Business Waste LTD - All content is copyright protected. With Waste Management’s EPS recycling solutions, separating out your polystyrene will save on disposal costs and free up space for your business – and NZ’s landfills. However, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is 100% recyclable. Luckily, we Brits are becoming more and more savvy about recycling and how to ensure the plastic we use (as little as possible) is disposed of correctly. Expanded Polystyrene Australia (EPSA) has established a National Collection Network with recycling centres located in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. It takes up valuable landfill space, too. This is why it is not recommended to reheat food in polystyrene containers. Another way to tell the difference is to consider what it is being used for. Approximately 100 tonnes of expanded polystyrene (otherwise referred to as EPS) is recycled every month in this country. Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) cannot be collected in your council recycling service. Get a fast FREE quote for your business waste collections. For items you cannot recycle such as food waste, cat litter/dog waste and disposable nappies. Here are four ways you can reuse your polystyrene items: 2.If you’re into gardening, polystyrene cups are a great size for planting seedlings if you make a few holes at the bottom for drainage. For this reason, polystyrene is not considered to be biodegradable. Polystyrene is a commonly used packaging material, as a such is covered under the Waste, Recycling and Packaging Act. That’s not to say that in future there won’t be a worldwide system of recycling polystyrene, because it can be compacted and transformed into items like clothes hangers, park benches, flower pots, toys, rulers, stapler bodies, seedling containers, picture frames, and architectural molding. Polystyrene that hasn’t been expanded is usually found in the form of a clear film that is used to wrap food and other goods. supports HTML5 3.Polystyrene food trays can be used as either an artist’s palette or a canvas to paint on. When polystyrene is incorrectly put in a recycling bin at home and goes in a recycling truck, it easily breaks up into small pieces. Styrofoam is simply a commercial brand of polystyrene. Can I … Amazing service and collected weekly without any issues at all. In addition, there are other independent operators who are able to recycle EPS. Polystyrene packaging can’t be recycled in your kerbside recycling bin. It’s time to ban this outdated, wasteful festive pastimeIt’s the most wonderful time of the year, trim the tree, stuff the turkey, and reach out to loved ones, but you’re unwittingly wasting literally tonnes of paper through wasteful Christ… Read more », The waste company has been named one of UK’s fastest growing companies.Yorkshire-based waste collection company Business Waste is celebrating its inclusion in the prestigious list published in this weekend’s Sunday Times.The company appears at no.59 in the paper’s 24th annual Sunday Ti… Read more ». It is important to reuse and recycle polystyrene as much as possible and to reduce the production and use of it in packaging and manufacturing. AmSty, the largest polystyrene producer in the Americas, and Agilyx, a leader in advanced recycling technology, announce the successful completion of For this reason it contaminates other compostable materials in your green bin. One of the most commonly-used plastics in this country is polystyrene, several millions of tons of which are produced per year. The demonstrator project for polystyrene recycling is based in Carling, France. When thinking about the amount of polystyrene that is used in the UK every month, and the fact that most polystyrene consists of disposable items, the negative impact on our environment must be taken into consideration. However, research has suggested that when polystyrene is heated up, it can cause it to break down and leach harmful chemicals. ABN: 81 065 027 868 Unfortunately, there is generally no viable way of recycling it globally. Cardboard and paper waste is one of the pressing concerns of environmentalists, and many people fail to see why. If possible, try to use old polystyrene packaging as cushioning in your own packages or when moving house. Small pieces of polystyrene cannot be sorted at a recycling facility and contaminate the other recyclables. Polystyrene recycling is a challenge for businesses in Leeds, Huddersfield and Wakefield. When considering whether polystyrene is recyclable, you need to determine whether the polystyrene you have is classic polystyrene or ‘expanded polystyrene’. However, the new type of expanded polystyrene can and should be recycled, and in fact, around 100 tonnes of expanded polystyrene is recycled in the UK every month. The material itself, composed mainly of air, is highly versatile, effective in reducing product damage, and cheap. It depends where you live, so while one person might find they can recycle their polystyrene, someone living in the adjacent council area may find they cannot. So, who is correct? Put any cat litter/dog waste, nappies, cold ashes and vacuum cleaner waste into a bag before putting them into your bin. The short answer is yes. ... EPS is among the most hotly debated materials when it comes to recycling. This is not a natural benefit due to the reality that some energy has to be nonetheless used to move and reprocess the material. The reasons for this conspicuous questioning is obvious: cardboard is made of paper and that makes it biodegradable. You can also use polystyrene foam in the place of pebbles or gravel to help improve soil drainage in plant pots. Most can be recycled in your kerbside recycling bin – just make sure they’re dry and free of food and liquids before you put them in. In the UK, it will likely not be recycled if you bung it in with other recyclable plastics. In general, when used as packaging and to contain food and drink, polystyrene is not toxic to humans. Is polystyrene recyclable, and is there anything we should know about it? So, recycling polystyrene reduces the quantity of oil required for the production system. *Free for amounts under half a cubic meter. Like many plastics, polystyrene is slow to biodegrade. However, the new type of expanded polystyrene can and should be recycled, and in fact, around 100 tonnes of expanded polystyrene is recycled in the UK every month. That’s great, you might think – lots of plastic products can be recycled. This may mean putting it out the night before. Most people know paper and cardboard are recyclable. 4.Packing peanuts can be used to stuff toys, beanbag chairs or pillows. Blue recycling bin Please make sure your bin is out by 6:30am on your regular collection day, or by 6am if your collection is a Saturday or bank holiday. Local number for Wyee residents 02 4357 1999 Telephone Interpreting Service 131 450 National Relay Service 133 677. Its shock absorbing characteristics lend it to uses as storage and transport of fragile and expensive items such as electronic equipment, chemicals and wines. Segregation Ideally EPS should be separated before it enters the waste stream to minimise contamination and […] Expanded polystyrene is not compostable or recyclable! Polystyrene moreover, poses a hazard to marine life. Most people readily recognise expanded polystyrene which is sometimes used for take-away food containers and to package white goods like microwaves. Why Should You Recycle … Most will also know glass can easily be recycled without any waste products being left behind. Around 40kg is binned by the average family each year – 40kg that could easily be recycled. It is advised by many of the NZ Councils to return your Polystyrene packaging to your place of purchase as many of these businesses operate a commercial EPS (Polystyrene) Recycling scheme. Great friendly service and really helpful staff! The slightly shiny surface means paints can be washed off easily and the tray can be reused. If you put it in your rubbish bin it takes up space in landfill and does not break down. There are all recyclable, but EPS, the lightest kind of polystyrene foam, is the most widely recycled of them all, and some local councils will collect it as part of their plastic recycling scheme. We cannot fault the customer service we have received by Business Waste. However a service fee does apply to other products. When polystyrene is sent to landfill, it can take up to 500 years for a single piece of it to decompose. Or you can search for ‘polystyrene recycling’ online, as some businesses will recycle it. Any way to reuse and recycle old polystyrene packaging is good for the environment and prevents it from going to landfill. As it was first produced in 1947, there is now a huge amount of polystyrene litter floating around, particularly along shores and waterways, and there is an increasing amount in the Pacific Ocean. As it was first produced in 1947, there is now a huge amount of polystyrene litter floating … As polystyrene is not biodegradable, this has a severe impact on our environment. To understand this question, we need to understand what polystyrene is. Therefore, if you have foam polystyrene which is light blue, it is likely to be Styrofoam. Rigid polystyrene is used to make yoghurt containers, plastic cutlery, and CD cases. Technically, if heated enough in the sun, for example, polystyrene will begin to break down. The insane excess of plastic bottles is one of the central issues, but all kinds of plastic products are starting to fill oceans and threaten our planet’s future. Unfortunately it is not commonly recycled and often ends up in landfill. Expanded polystyrene eps is the most common type of polystyrene found on the modern market. Contact us. There are three main types of polystyrene commonly used, known as polystyrene (PS), expanded polystyrene (EPS), and extruded polystyrene (XPS). If you can’t recycle your polystyrene foam at the Edinburgh North Resource Recovery Centre, please dispose of it in the red-lid general waste bin. You can help the environment by dropping off polystyrene for recycling at locations across Melbourne (see below). To encourage recycling some Councils have introduced a high minimum charge or a volumetric price because of its size. Box 1906, Hunter Region Mail Centre, NSW 2310. Soft plastics include items such as clear shrink wrap etc that are common in distribution centres and retail businesses. Plastics waste is now a waking environmental nightmare that no world leader can afford to ignore. No bean bag beans, loose foam packaging, foam wrapping, meat trays or coloured foam (please dispose of these in your household garbage bin). However, most polystyrene ends up piled up in landfill where it is not exposed to sunlight, and so it can take an extremely long time to break down. Produce boxes are accepted free of charge. Service is really good, had many problems in the past with previous suppliers however since been with Business Waste I have not had any problems what so ever. Polystyrene is not an item you can put into the kerbside recycling bin, so we need to reduce the use of polystyrene and say no to it where we can. Unfortunately, it is highly likely that if you mixed your expanded polystyrene in with your other recyclable plastics it would not actually be recycled. Expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) can be recycled, although it is not without challenges. "Expanded polystyrene should be placed in the waste bin," Craig tells us. I am in a very tricky location with not much room to store a container however I was provided with many options from the sales rep to accommodate my requirements. Phone 02 4921 0333 Email council@lakemac.nsw.gov.au. Please note the following products cannot be accepted for recycling: extruded polystyrene … While Styrofoam, otherwise known as polystyrene, is accepted at a few recycling facilities, for the majority of municipal recycling centers this isn’t the case. However, not all councils accept EPS for recycling. The size of much of the waste polystyrene we amass also makes it complex to collect, even though it is very lightweight. EastEnders spoilers: Linda Carter exits as she leaves with Max Branning in devastating twist? How is EPS recycled? However, some councils do accept Expanded Polystyrene for recycling. 4. I have had a fantastic service all year and will continue to do business with them. 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