Recycling Guide - PS & EPS (Styropor)

Contrary to popular belief, numerous other plastics can be recycled in addition to PET. A prerequisite for this is the varietal purity. PS is often found as crystal-clear hard plastic packaging, such as for CDs and DVDs. Since PS is also acid and UV resistant, it is also used as a film for a wide variety of applications. EPS, expanded polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam or Sagex, is mainly used as an insulating material and as protective packaging in everyday life.

When recycling Styrofoam, it is painted and the recovered pellets are cleaned and re-pressed – mainly into boards for the construction industry (insulation) or new packaging.

It is almost impossible in everyday life to distinguish between different plastic films, to collect them separately and to dispose of them correctly. That is why around 80% of plastic waste still ends up in household waste incineration. That's a pity, because around 50% of mixed plastics collected can be processed directly into high-quality granules and thus replace petroleum-based new material. Downcycling and other applications increase the rate to around 65%. Granulate made from plastic waste only requires around half the energy compared to new production from crude oil. When 1 kg of plastic is burned, around 1L of oil is lost and up to 3 kg of CO₂ are released.

At WeRecycle, if it looks like plastic, put it in the collection bag. We take care of the sorting.