While in production polystyrene wins points for being a positive impact in comparison to paper, recycling these products is different.
Polystyrene uses 1/6th of all the total production elements of paper cups and only 3% of the chemical ingredients. For paper, it takes 33 grams (g) of wood, 4g’s of fuel (oil or gas), and 1.8g of non-recycled chemicals to make a single 10.1g cup.
According to a production research study initiated by Franklin Associates (33 year-old life cycle analysis and solid waste management firm), polystyrene’s production can be less harmful to the environment than paper production. The answer depends on several factors and should be considered relative to the level of technology utilized during production as well as that of the landfill in which it ends up. Currently, there is little infrastructure in place to recycle the large amounts of polystyrene created annually however, in Georgia Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division, Live Thrive Atlanta’s CHaRM (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials) and Chatham County (Savannah) have foam densifiers and accept polystyrene for recycling.ĭoes Polystyrene cause a Negative Impact on the Environment? This makes a plastic that’s easily molded and fitted with great versatility. Polystyrene is technically a plastic polymer that is useful in industry because of its ability to act as a solid, be melted down, reshaped and then cooled making it a solid again. Known to most as Styrofoam, the Dow Chemical Company’s patented name, this product can be found in packaging “peanuts”, cafeteria food and fruit trays, egg cartons, cups and the list goes on and on.
Even if you don’t know it, you’ve heard of Polystyrene before.
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