Even according to this guide, hosted by the British Plastics Federation, and trumpeting the virtues of Expanded Polystyrene, recycling facilities for this material are few and far between
Practically speaking, people are not able to recycle polystyrene from consumer packaging, or insulated boxes for refrigerated food deliveries, because there are not widespread recycling services available for it.
I have contacted Inverawe Smokehouse to complain about their boxes, because every year, we receive a food box around Christmas time, and then in the New Year, I toil to try to find some further use for the big white box. Apparently, some people use them to incubate reptiles, like bearded dragons, but often nobody seems to want the box, and we end up having to send it to landfill. As I told them, there is an alternative to polystyrene, called woolcool, which several food suppliers use to package similar food hampers for gift deliveries, and I am awaiting a response from Inverawe about changing their packaging.
Here in the UK, Oxford has banned take-away containers made of polystyrene, following the lead of several major U.S. cities, including San Francisco, so I'm proud and happy to see things changing somewhat.
Beachapedia has a good, brief summary of polystyrene and its problematic uses.
Please get in touch if you have any comments about this issue, if you've seen the plastic beach in Hawaii, for example, or think of ways to cut down on polystyrene wherever you are.
| Brazil, post-carnival. |
