Does your business generate expanded polystyrene (EPS) waste, which is then transported to landfill? If the answer is ‘yes’, you could benefit from using an EPS compactor machine to process your waste and even make money from recycled polystyrene.
Because EPS is 98% air, it takes up a lot of room which makes it expensive to transport. The process of compacting can reduce EPS volume by a ratio of 50:1.
Using a compacting machine from PRM will save money you’d spend sending the waste to landfill (which, since April 1st 2018, now costs £88.95 per ton). You can also resell the compacted, stackable EPS blocks to recyclers, who will use the polystyrene to manufacture items such as shrink wrap, picture frames and even beach huts and picnic benches.
From an environmental perspective, EPS tends to get bad press due to its bulky nature and the fact that it is not widely collected from domestic waste by councils. However, it is very straightforward to breakdown for recycling due to its single-polymer constitution, and being only 2% material, this resource-efficient packaging material has a relatively low carbon footprint.
Recycled polystyrene: the benefits
The benefits of compacted recycled polystyrene are a well kept secret in the commercial world. With so many uses for the material once compacted, it can become a very viable source of additional revenue. The amount of money that can be generated from recycled polystyrene depends on a number of factors, including supply and demand, level of contamination, volume and distance, but it can fetch up to £350 per tonne.
The RUNI SK200 is capable of significantly compacting EPS waste. Furthermore, RUNI’s newest compactor has a capacity of 45kg/hour. Talk to us today to discuss your EPS compacting requirements and discuss how much additional revenue your business could generate from your recycled polystyrene.
