EnStyro Styrofoam Recycling
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Your Styrofoam Recycling Resource
The time for responsible and self sustaining EPS “Expanded Polystyrene or Styrofoam” recycling is at hand. Sure this will save landfill space, but a larger reason is due to the properties of this material. EPS has extreme insulating qualities, which can help us address our ever increasing energy demands. EPS also has great longevity which makes it a perfect construction material when processed correctly. Enstyro is using methods that we have developed that now make it possible to reuse this great raw material in new ways. Ensyro would like to see more EPS recycled and less in landfills.
The idea of using EPS in concrete, for example, is not a new one. It has been tried before, but the strength of the concrete was always too low. Enstyro has developed a concrete aggregate by coating EPS particles with a hard shell, thus giving strength to the concrete from the shell and still maintaining the light weight insulating properties of EPS. The internal concrete stresses from expansion and contraction can be absorbed by the EPS which reduces cracking. Our poured walls for homes and industry can have insulation built in. This reduces the need for mining aggregate, and increases the efficiency of the home.
Styrofoam recycling has never worked in the United States for three basic reasons:
- New Styrofoam has been incredibly cheap.
- Landfills charge by the pound and not by the gallon.
- Long distance transportation of the bulky material is costly and environmentally neutral once fossil fuel consumption is weighted next to recycling benefits.
Reason number 1 is temporary because Styrofoam, its production, and its transport to end users rely almost totally on the price of fossil fuels. Enstyro works around this problem by creating value added end products which achieve profit. Knowledgeable citizens who care about our future have made recycled products an attractive alternative to other products. We strive to make recycling profitable by producing high throughput equipment at a reasonable price. There are grant opportunities available in several states which could be used to purchase equipment for recycling.
Reason number 2 means that it is cheap and easy to take the material to the land fill, however, the current population shows a real conscience about what goes in the trash. The first EPS drop off bin placed by Enstyro received well more EPS than was expected. By accepting EPS, local homes and businesses can save a little money and the local Enstyro gets a free raw material for innovative products.
Enstyro has addressed reason number 3 by inventing inexpensive processing equipment which can serve small communities and resell the end products back to the community where it was collected. EPS itself has been the greatest asset to enabling this process. The ease with which it is processed, handled, and distributed makes it an ideal small business model. Large corporations would find it difficult to push out the small business person because of the transportation cost associated with long distance shipping of unprocessed EPS.
Enstyro was started for the simple reason that EPS is a unique material with several extreme properties.
- Extremely low density
- Extremely high insulating value
- Longevity greater than almost any other construction material.