Is it possible to recycle polystyrene?

Polystyrene is one of those products that is always destined for landfill, right? When unpacking a new appliance you can flatten the cardboard box for paper recycling; and you can reserve the plastic bags for taking to a designated bag collection point; but the polystyrene must go straight into the red bin for general waste.

I thought so too. And it was disheartening because, even though it is light-weight, it takes up considerable space. And a major problem with landfill as a destination is volume, not weight. In the same way that it fills your weekly red bin from just one large appliance box, it fills landfill with terrible efficiency.

Polystyrene is not for the Yellow Bin (Central Coast, NSW*)

It is certainly true that a yellow bin collection will not be able to process an recycle polystyrene. It will end up in landfill anyway if it gets put in the wrong bin. And, as discussed in other articles, it dilutes the effectiveness of other recycling efforts if incorrect materials are put into the yellow bin.

*Check with your local council and their waste removal contractor. Recycling facilities differ among council areas.

So how do you recycle polystyrene?

Polystyrene is available for recycling through larger depots in major cities. The closest one to me is in Sydney. Even so, they deal with large quantities and it is not ideal for them to be handed in small amounts of polystyrene product.

However, there are often collectors in suburbs nearer to you who will stockpile household quantities from individuals until it is of sufficient quantity to take to a depot and collect the small fee offered.

What happens when you recycle polystyrene?

Being a petrochemical product it can be chemically processed back into oil products, like fuel or other plastics. Though it must be done in a batch with only the same type of product, so that the batch is homogeonous and can be processed correctly.