polystyrene cup and bowl with plastic spoon

by | Speed (↓) | Longevity (↑) | 2 comments | 1 question

white patterned dish with a small cup and a plastic spoon

Where and how is it used?

used it to eat prepared food, given out free by students in the high street

What did you or someone else pay for it?

free, with free food

Why do you want to add it to the museum?

because i believe in recycling


How was it made?

Is made in a factory

Is farmed

Is mass-produced

Is produced by local cottage industry

Is made to particular specifications

Is craft / hand-made

Is foraged

Is found

Is colonised

Is a service


Materials & Making

Who made or produced your commodity?

dont know

Who was paid to make it?

someone in a factory

What skills does it take to make it?

Not answered yet

Where was it made?

unkown

What does it cost to make it?

pence at a guess

What is it made from?

1. polystrene :

olystyrene was discovered in 1839 by From storax, the resin of the Turkish sweetgum tree Liquidambar orientalis, he distilled an oily substance, a monomer that he named styrol.

Buying & Owning

Who decides how much it costs?

manufacturers

Who or what assesses its quality?

quality control

Where is it sold?

shops around the world

Who or what sells it?

manufacturers, shop keepers

How did this thing arrive from where it was made to where you got it?

delivery

Where is it used?

in food preparation

Where is it kept?

somewhere clean

How and by whom is it cared for?

the shelves in shops

How long will it last?

until it disintergrates

Where will it go when it's finished with?

recycling

What is it worth?

pennies


How do you and others value this commodity?

See the values contributed by visitors and those of the donor. And add your own values to this commodity.

Total times valued2
Positive (↑)Longevity
Negative (↓)Speed
Overall Positive156
Overall Negative-73
Controversy44.75 (0 = most controversial)
  

What do these numbers mean?

This data that we have collected over time in our database means nothing without interpretation. A relational database, which we are using here, is technology that enables designers of websites and software to compare, contrast, interrogate and infer relations within data. The act of designing a database is not objective but driven by the agency of its creators and owners.

Within the MoCC Collection data is used to help think through the relations between values, commodities and data. Can we describe our values using sliders and numbers? How do we infer meaning such as controversy from data?

Below is a brief explanation of the some calculations and how these help make decisions about what is shown on the site.

  • Controversy Score:
    (Total Positive Values) + (Total Negative Values)

    The closer the value is to zero the more controversial it is in relation to other commodities. Used to infer that values associated with one commodity divide opinion more than another.

  • Average Value Score (used in the sliders):
    (Total Positive for Value + Total Negative for Value) ÷ Total Times Valued

    Used to infer a collective value associated with a commodity.

How do you value this commodity?

To add your own values click VALUE THIS COMMODITY and move the sliders left and right to add your own values - then click SUBMIT
show donor's original values
- 0
19 +
- 0
15 +
- 0
13 +
- 0
13 +
- 0
12 +
- 0
12 +
- 0
10 +
- 0
8 +
- 3
10 +
- 0
7 +
- 0
8 +
- 0
4 +
- 0
3 +
- 2
1 +
- 2
1 +
- 10
9 +
- 6
5 +
- 7
5 +
- 3
0 +
- 3
0 +
- 3
0 +
- 6
1 +
- 7
0 +
- 8
0 +
- 13
0 +

Questions and answers

Help to reveal unknown quantities, properties and uses of this commodity by answering this MoCC curator's questions.

Question: Can polystyrene be recycled?

Answers:

mealworms can eat it, breaking it down into mealworm poo and co2.
In the building trade it is used with added flame retardants highly toxic to aquatic life. In recycling these toxic additives get mixed in with non-toxic polystyrol, leading to progressive contamination of recycled matter.
In practice recycling therefore is problematic

by scharfrichter on May 15th at 9:12am

Hi there!

My name is Jenny and I am a Commodity Consultant for MOCC.

Polystyrene is one of the most common forms of plastic. You see it in take-out coffee cups and egg cartons; it's the packing material used to cushion goods for shipping. Many call it Styrofoam, though that term is actually the brand name of a rigid blue insulation made by Dow Chemical Company. Polystyrene is a very versatile material, but recycling it isn't always easy.

The term polystyrene means that the plastic is derived from styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon. When heated, monomer styrene molecules link together into long chains, creating a polymer material that's solid when it cools to room temperature. That clear, hard, brittle plastic was developed on a commercial basis in Germany in the 1930s. The material is used today for CD and DVD jewel cases and plastic forks. In 1941, Dow scientist Ray McIntyre invented extruded polystyrene foam (Styrofoam), a light, waterproof material that was first used for making life rafts. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is another, similar foam material that has found even more uses.

Because it's about 95 percent air, EPS is an excellent insulator. That's why it's used in beer coolers and home insulation, and why the hot coffee in a polystyrene cup doesn't burn your fingers. Because it's light, EPS is ideal for creating buoyancy in life vests and rafts. Its lightness and malleability make it a good packing material, adding cushioning but little weight. Also, EPS doesn't react with other materials and is resistant to heat, so it has found wide use in the food industry in things like meat and poultry trays and the boxes that fast-food hamburgers are served in.

However, some of the same qualities that make polystyrene useful can also work against it when it comes to recycling. Its lightness means that it's hard to collect from curbside containers -- it often blows away, becoming litter. Because it's bulky, it's difficult and expensive to transport. Many municipal recycling programs do not accept it (a few, like Los Angeles and Toronto, do).

One of the problems of all plastics recycling in general is that you have to gather the same types of materials together and sort them by their material container code -- a number usually found on the bottom of the container that makes it easy to identify the type of plastic in the object. Some other plastics -- like 1 (used for soda and water bottles), 2 (laundry detergent and other containers), and 4 (plastic bags) -- are easier to isolate. Polystyrene, which is number 6, presents more problems. While water and soda bottles are relatively clean when discarded, polystyrene used for food is often mixed with paper, food scraps and other types of plastic, like the straw that's thrown away with an EPS cup.

Polystyrene usually can't be recycled locally but has to be transported to a centralized plant, increasing costs to the recycler and reducing the incentive to recycle. Also, recycled polystyrene cannot in most cases be used for products that contact food because of health concerns, even though the material is usually sterilized by the recycling process. Recycled EPS might be used instead to create packaging or other materials, but new EPS is always needed for coffee cups and plates.

So what's the best way to recycle polystyrene and why might bacteria someday play a role in the process?

Polystyrene-hungry Bacteria

The polystyrene industry claims a recycling rate of about 12 percent, according to the Alliance for Foam Packaging Recycling, but that includes scraps from EPS manufacturing, which are immediately reused. The fact is that it's often easier and cheaper to produce new polystyrene than it is to collect, transport and process material for recycling.

The most direct way for consumers to recycle polystyrene is to reuse it. This method doesn't work as well with coffee cups and plastic forks, but it's ideal for packaging materials. Packing peanuts can simply be collected and used again. Shippers may take rigid packaging and chop into small pieces to use as loose packing. UPS accepts packing peanuts from the public for reuse.
Used polystyrene can also be reprocessed for use in creating other products. For example, the Dart Container Corporation, the largest producer of polystyrene food containers, has four plants in the U.S. and Canada that receive EPS from schools, supermarkets, hospitals and other users. Here's how the reprocessing works at their plants:

The material to be recycled is shipped to the plant and inspected to remove contaminants like paper and food.
Sorting separates clean material from soiled waste that will need washing.
The waste is fed into a grinder where it is processed into "fluff." Any EPS that is not already clean is washed and dried.
Heat and friction are used to melt the fluff, removing all the air.
The melted material is pushed under pressure into a die with small openings and extruded as strands of polystyrene, which are cooled with water and chopped into pellets.
The pellets are shipped to manufacturers to be used in everything from toys to sun visors to building insulation.

Carrying truckloads of light, bulky polystyrene to recycling centers is usually not economical. Recyclers have found ways to compact the material to a more manageable size. Balers take foam packaging and compress it, reducing the bulk somewhat. Another method is to use limonene, a natural solvent made from orange peels. Limonene dissolves and concentrates EPS and can itself be reused. The chemical causes the EPS foam to "melt" without heat, reducing it to 5 percent of its original size. Thermal compaction uses heat to reduce chopped EPS to a concentrated brick that's easier to ship.

When it is burned in municipal incinerators, polystyrene yields nothing but carbon dioxide and water vapor. It's a good fuel for waste-to-energy programs that capture the heat and turn it to useful purposes, a process known as thermal recycling.

The polystyrene industry has been working to make recycling the material easier for consumers. For example, the Plastic Loose Fill Council's Web site can direct you to a nearby business that accepts used EPS packaging. Or you can call their "Peanut Hotline" to learn where to take loose EPS. Drop-off centers can also be found through the Earth911 Web site. The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers allows consumers to mail in non-food EPS for recycling.

If recycling polystyrene sounds like a lot of trouble, what's the point of doing it? Read on to find out some reasons why.

Polystyrene "Wood"

An interesting use of recycled EPS is a product that looks like wood and can be used for park benches and fence posts. The material costs less than hardwood and can be used instead of woods such as mahogany and teak, which are harvested from rainforests.

Making polystyrene requires petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. So, recycling polystyrene reduces the amount of oil needed for the manufacturing process. This is not a pure gain, of course, because some energy must still be used to transport and reprocess the material.

The most visible benefit of polystyrene recycling is in the reduction of litter both on land and in the sea. EPS, which is not affected by oxygen, sunlight or water, stays around indefinitely. Municipalities have to spend money to clean it up. That's why a number of cities, including San Francisco and Seattle, have banned EPS in take-out food packaging.

Polystyrene takes up space in landfills, where it will remain for hundreds of years. The industry argues that this is not a real drawback because modern landfills are sealed from moisture and light and are not meant to encourage biodegradation. Even organic material does not break down once it reaches a landfill.

Polystyrene also poses a threat to marine life. As it wears out over time, EPS disintegrates into tiny particles, which look like food to fish and may be eaten. The foam clogs the digestive systems of marine animals, killing them. It's estimated that EPS makes up 60 to 80 percent of marine litter, according to a 2008 review in Environmental Research. Recycling can help reduce the amount that winds up in the sea.

Recycling consumer polystyrene also prevents the material from being burned in backyard fires or burn barrels. Polystyrene can produce toxic chemicals when burned unless efficient incinerators are used.

The benefits and the difficulties of recycling polystyrene are a good example of the complex issues that can arise when we're looking at ways to conserve resources and protect the environment. The solutions, as in the case of recycling polystyrene, are not always easy. But we can't necessarily duck the question by turning to alternative materials, either. For example, the paper cup that holds your take-out coffee is usually plastic-coated and is not recyclable. Nor does it break down in landfills. Even a ceramic cup requires much more energy to produce than a polystyrene one and typically continues to use energy to heat the water needed to wash it. There may be a savings in the long run, but the choice is not as clear as it sometimes seems.

XPANDED POLYSTYRENE IS 100% RECYCLABLE
Polystyrene is 100% recyclable

Polystyrene is 100% recyclable

Thousands of tonnes of polystyrene are recycled every year in the UK. This recycling is undertaken by responsible business organisations as currently no local authorities on mainland UK have set up polystyrene recycling outlets.

Polystyrene is a single, inert polymer which makes it extremely straightforward and safe to handle during collection, processing and recycling.

REDUCE, Reuse, Recycle
The three Rs are a fundamental to all waste reduction strategies.

At Styropack we design our products to use the minimum amount of material required to deliver the performance required.

Styropack invests in energy efficient machinery and is committed to sustainable manufacture processes. All Styropack manufacturing sites are certified to ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard.

Reduce, RE-USE, Recycle

Even better than recycling, polystyrene can be re-used. Any broken products during the production process are broken up, ground back to the original bead size and used again in new products. This means there is zero waste in the Styropack manufacturing process.

Styropack will take back clean, HBCD-free polystyrene and re-use it in new products such as packaging and insulation board. Styropack has developed a seed tray with a 25% recycled seed tray content.

Reduce, Re-use, RECYCLE

All products made from polystyrene are 100% recyclable, from horticulture seed trays to fish boxes. And, there are recyclers in the UK who want the used material to recycle it. Many will collect compacted material free of charge. Polystyrene can be recycled into replacement hardwood.

The used polystyrene must be compacted, this can reduce the size of the material – by removing the air – by as much as 85%.Compacting polystyrene results in small blocks of solid material making transporting it a more realistic economic and environmentally-responsible option.

The compacted blocks will be recycled back into a clean bead that can be sold as recyclate feedstock and is typically used to make items like picture frames, coat hangers, decking and shopfitting trims.

The recyclate polystyrene bead can also be used to make replacement hardwood which is used to make garden furniture, park benches, fencing and beach huts. It requires no maintenance, looks and acts like wood and reduces the use of natural hardwoods such as teak.

Polystyrene is favoured for its insulating and protective qualities, and is often chosen for packaging. Unfortunately due to the material’s bulkiness, it is financially and environmentally expensive to send to landfill. It is possible to recycle any clean white polystyrene, or indeed any other packaging an office or household may generate.
It can take thousands of years for your packaging to break down in landfill, but it only takes Printwaste Recycling and Shredding a few days from collection to be able to recycle polystyrene straight back into packaging. Polythene can also be manufactured back into products like new shrinkwrap to ensure your waste material is recycled and to give you a 'greener' alternative to using a landfill site.

I hope you have found this insightful,

Kind regards,

Jenny

Links
http://www.printwaste.co.uk/recycling-polystyrene.php
http://www.styropack.co.uk/recycling/
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/polystyrene-recycling.htm

by MoCCconsultant on May 15th at 1:42pm

Conversation

Do you have questions about how this commodity is valued? Or want to talk about your own values in relation to it? Share your comments.

What's the story behind free meals provided by students?
What's the best one off dish availbale in terms of environmental impact and usability?

by scharfrichter on May 15th at 9:04am

Hi scharfrichter

I imputed this on behalf of a visitor to the MOCC shop last week who is not on the Internet. She told me that the students from the university give away free food to people in town every Saturday. She talked a great deal about the chocolate brownie and the chick pea curry.

by kez on May 16th at 11:52am

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