The Plastics Industry Association is forming a group to expand US polystyrene recycling as states increasingly ban expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam because of low recycling rates.
The group, called the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance, aims to improve consumer access to polystyrene recycling and to increase the number of applications for which recycled polystyrene can be used.
The group plans to establish an investment fund to expand polystyrene recycling across the US.
EPS food packaging, one of polystyrene's primary end uses, is difficult to collect, bulky and often contaminated with food, which has hampered recycling investment for the material. End uses for recycled polystyrene have also remained limited.
As a result, polystyrene recycling has struggled to gain momentum in the US, which has led to state EPS bans. California this month banned EPS foam in food service under the state's extended producer responsibility law after the recycling rate failed to reach 25pc by 2025.
AmSty and Agilyx's polystyrene recycling joint venture Regenyx, one of the few polystyrene-exclusive recycling companies, closed in March after five years of operation. The Oregon-based company lost $1.1mn in the first half of 2023.
