Expanded polystyrene is a lightweight, buoyant, and insulating material used for life rafts, packaging, and construction. Styrofoam is a trade name for extruded polystyrene foam, commonly mistaken for disposable cups and coolers. Polystyrene foam is also used in craft projects but is ranked as the fifth largest producer of hazardous waste and poses health risks. Recycling companies often don’t accept it.
Expanded polystyrene is a type of plastic made from styrene. It is a lightweight, moisture resistant material with outstanding insulating properties. Because it’s over 90% air, this foam is also remarkably buoyant. It is this feature that has prompted the US Coast Guard and US Navy to use this foam to make life rafts and life preservers since World War II. Consumers are also somewhat familiar with this material, although it is commonly mistaken for something else.
Styrofoam is the trade name for extruded polystyrene foam, a Dow Chemical Company invention that has been in production for over 50 years. Almost everyone who has bought coffee “to go” has heard of the container as a Styrofoam cup. However, this material has never been used to make disposable coffee cups. For that matter, it has never even been used to make portable picnic coolers, another misconception. These products are actually made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam in the form of beads, commonly known as packing “peanuts”.
Unlike disposable cups and picnic coolers, which are particularly white in color, expanded polystyrene products are usually blue. It is used to make insulating envelopes for residential homes, commercial buildings, and plumbing systems. It is also used in road construction as an insulating layer under pavement to discourage the formation of cracks and potholes that occur due to seasonal freezing and thawing of the underlying ground.
Polystyrene foam is also made into materials used in craft projects. In fact, florists are familiar with the distinctive crackling noise produced when cutting Styrofoam or inserting flower stems into it. It is also used to model architectural models and as a support for framed photographs and prints. While other forms of this foam are blue in color, foam made for crafting purposes is green or white.
In terms of environmental impact and human health risks, polystyrene foam manufacturing is ranked by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as the fifth largest producer of hazardous waste. In addition to posing an occupational health risk due to exposure to styrene during processing, there are concerns about polystyrene production contributing to poor air quality. This is due to hydrocarbons escaping during production and reacting with nitrogen oxides in the air, which form a pollutant known as ground-level ozone. Additionally, many recycling companies won’t accept products made from left-on-the-curb expanded polystyrene, presumably because the market for recovering this material is limited.
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