Styrofoam gets the (re)boot

While some electronics companies, such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), have made strides to reduce overall packaging, none have found an alternative packaging material to Styrofoam. Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) last year unveiled the industry’s first in-house EPS recycling system. The company devised a way to turn waste from CRT-based color televisions into flame-retardant polystyrene. Sony incorporated the recycled polystyrene into its new BRAVIA TV product line, which hit the Japanese market in the spring of 2008.

EPS foam, which is 90 to 95 percent air, is not the most cost-effective material to recycle, contributing to the material’s abysmal 19 percent recycling rate. Unless recyclers have the equipment to densify the lightweight but bulky material, most end up paying tipping fees to dispose of it rather than recycling it.

There are no recyclers in the state of Washington that recycle EPS, according to Dan Cantrell, executive director of the Washington State Recyclers Association. “It’s continued to be a challenge,” Cantrell says.

In January, Portland-based PLC Recycling installed and began operating Oregon’s first EPS densifier at its North Portland facility. So far, PLC has shipped 80,000 pounds of material to a buyer in California, according to plant manager Glenn Zimmerman; another 40,000 is set to ship soon.

Without enough volume, most recyclers can’t make the investment in a densifier pencil out, Zimmerman says. But it’s paying off for PLC: The company plans to install a densifier at a new Southeast Portland location this year.