Polystyrene is an item that most of us have come across. Whether this is as a form of packaging material around the new television that you bought or holding your children’s toys in the boxes, it is something that we have all seen. It can be incredibly difficult to clean up when it has been broken into small pieces, which is why a polystyrene recycling company such as https://www.printwaste.co.uk/business-recycling-solutions/polystyrene-recycling/ is important to use if you have to dispose of large quantities of polystyrene. This Christmas there will be numerous families collecting up all the pieces of polystyrene from the packages that have been delivered along with the christmas cards and wrapping paper.
Here are some interesting facts about this material:
- Polystyrene comes in two main forms – Expanded and Extruded. Expanded polystyrene is a polymer that is more commonly known as a foam and is the type of material that can then be moulded into a variety of shapes for packaging material or take away food containers as well as into sheets and slabs that can be cut into the shapes that are needed. Extruded polystyrene tends to cover the sheet items that are used primarily for insulation.
- The make up of polystyrene is actually 95% air which is what makes the product so light weight. This is why it is used for insulation as well as packaging items as it is easy to manoeuvre and cut but does not allow heat to easily travel through it.
- You may be surprised to know that it can be reused and recycled. It is created from a liquid that goes through the polymerisation process to turn into a solid. This means that it can be heated as a solid and turned back into its liquid state to then be remoulded into another item and used over and over again. There are many places that will take polystyrene to be recycled meaning that with careful planning it can be one of the best products to use in terms of packaging materials that are sustainable and have a minimum impact on the environment around us.
Next time you use a polystyrene cup or remove some of the packaging from your gifts or home furniture items consider the environment around you are recycle the pieces so that they can be reused again and perhaps visit your home in a different box in the future!