Polystyrene processing and recycling
You know, I’ve written several posts about recycling polystyrene.
Polysytrene densification is the solution and there are various applications.
Recently I got wind of a seafood processing company that receives frozen fish in polystyrene containers and after processing, ships out fish in other polystyrene containers.
The densifier they bought handles 4,000 pounds of polystyrene weekly, compacting them into 40 pound ingots which are sold to a container company.
Polystyrene densification is a project where the feasibility is driven by sheer volume. I’m glad to see more and more companies tackling it as a part of their sustainability goals!
Foam Densifiers
Polystyrene foam. Fun stuff. Ubiquitous. Most often landfilled.
Foam densification is a fancy term for compacting polystyrene foam into tiny little blocks. Foam by definition is full of air, so smushing it anyway you can saves a lot of space, which reduces waste disposal pick ups and thus, costs.
For example, Dart Container Corp makes a densifier that can compact a foam mound the size of a Prius into the volume of a five-gallon bucket.
Foam densifiers are great fits for distribution center recycling and food service foam is very common too. The equipment isn’t cheap, so sourcing it requires great care. Leasing is a good option, especially if you are selling the densified foam to an organization who uses it as a raw material.
