by Glenn Meyers

For recyclers who have run into dead ends on where or how to recycle Styrofoam, Denver-based ACH Foam Technologies, which runs a recycling operation from its corporate offices, offers some alternatives from the trash can.

This is great news because the majority of recycling operations eschew the material. While Styrofoam may be regarded as a miracle substance for the packaging industry, it has long been considered a curse with no cure by recyclers and environmentalists due to an interminably long lifespan and its difficult fit in the recycling industry, where most regard it as non-recyclable.

ACH is a leader in expanded polystyrene (EPS) industry, manufacturing products for construction, geotechnical, packaging, and industrial applications. ACH reports that many of its products can be easily recycled to make new EPS products, or thermally processed to be turned into other plastics materials.

As it turns out, some methods of recycling Styrofoam have been going on since 1991, when the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers (AFPR) was formed. This organization represented some 80 companies in the expanded polystyrene (EPS) industry. Since that time, AFPR has expanded to facilitate the development of recycling and awareness communications and programs.

Although polystyrene doesn’t fit the category of sustainability, remanufacturing it sounds far better then just dumping it in the waste stream. In this video, Mike Hagood, Walmart senior director of innovations, believes the practice fits quite well with his company’s push for sustainability.

This marketing video on polystyrene recycling is available for those wishing to understand the Styrofoam remanufacturing process.

If you don’t live in Colorado, check with AFPR.