In an effort to raise polystyrene recycling rates, the Plastics Industry Association has created a Polystyrene Recycling Alliance.
The alliance includes members from both the PS and EPS industries, along with brands, converters and recyclers. The goal is to achieve “widely recyclable status” from How2Recycle for PS.
Matt Seaholm, PIA president and CEO, said in a press release that the collaboration “is a huge step forward for polystyrene sustainability.”
“Polystyrene is inherently recyclable, is being recycled today, and will be recycled at much greater scale in the future,” he added.
How2Recycle, which is part of the GreenBlue organization, issues packaging labels that can be used by brands. The label framework is designed to be in line with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides, which regulate environmental marketing claims.
The labeling system has four different levels:
- “Widely recycled” means at least 60% of Americans can divert the material via curbside recycling or drop-off recycling.
- “Check locally” means between 20% and 60% of Americans have access to recycling.
- “Not yet recycled” means either fewer than 20% of Americans can recycle it or that it could cause a problem in a recycling facility.
- “Store drop-off” means it can only be dropped off in select stores.
The alliance worked with Resource Recycling Systems to create a roadmap to guide the initiative. Based on initial data, 32% of the U.S. population currently has access to recycle one or more PS items, it found, and several formats are on the brink of qualifying for a “check locally” recycling status.
“Furthermore, with ongoing and planned industry investments in recycling capacity, PSRA expects recycling access for several polystyrene formats and applications to approach ‘widely recyclable status’ by 2030,” according to the press release. “We will work collaboratively across the value chain and invest in infrastructure and education to accelerate progress.”
This year, EPS bans came into force in Oregon and California; California’s ban was driven by the material’s low recycling rate.
The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance plans to establish a recycling investment and education fund to reach its goals. Those funds will be directed toward improving collection infrastructure and drop-off programs, education, and developing robust end markets, the roadmap noted.
Richard Shaw, chair of the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance and director of circular economy and sustainability at AmSty, said the focus is “to expand end-of-life recycling options for all types of polystyrene through strategic investments and partnerships with other stakeholders committed to a circular plastics economy.”
