All About Foam

Polystyrene makes a multitude of products that help make life as we know it possible. One of its more popular forms is what we call Styrofoam. Polystyrene is a product that has been around since the 1830s, but the Styrofoam we know (and can't get enough of) didn't come to existence until 1941.

Styrofoam is approximately 90% air, a property that has both good and bad consequences. The good thing is that shipping foam items is a breeze, keeping costs down for both producers and consumers, allowing for a multitude of cheap products. The bad thing is that in a post-consumer aspect, the loose (unformed) foam objects aren't practical to ship to a recycling facility- it is expensive to ship enough recyclable product to make it worthwhile. This makes recycling foam items difficult.

The good news is that products exist to make recycling foam much more practical. For example, densifiers are machines that condense loose polystyrene into compact blocks. This significantly increases the ability for large shipments of foam to be taken to recycling facilities. According to the Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC), “a 48-foot truckload of baled foam polystyrene weighs only around 16,000 pounds, whereas a truckload of densified foam polystyrene weighs 40,000 pounds.” Simply said, one truck of loose polystyrene equals about 2.5 trucks of densified product, making a more efficient means to ship it. Of course, a foam densifier requires more capital than many recycling facilities have, so their use is more scarce than would be ideal, considering the amount of Styrofoam that gets tossed in the garbage.

When Styrofoam is recycled, you may find yourself wondering what it gets turned into. A few examples are listed here: picture frames, building products, decorative molding, file holders and packaging tape dispensers. If you're curious about the process, check out this video.

In Jackson County, there are places to take your used foam products. Recycling Jackson is one location, located at 1401 S Brown St. Emmons Recycling also accepts all Styrofoam, with the exception of packing peanuts. Emmons is located at 913 Water St in Jackson.