Our Mission
Our
Mission
EPS and its uses
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is widely used in modern society due to its many benefits, but in recent times it has attracted controversy, in part because it is misunderstood. It is used in building & construction, packaging and other applications like bicycle helmets.
EPS, like all other manufactured products, has some impact on the environment, but during its lifetime as an insulation product EPS saves considerably more energy than is consumed during its production and use. And it’s not widely known that all non-contaminated EPS can be recycled.
Since the 1950s, expanded polystyrene has been well regarded as a mainstream insulation material. EPS is a material of choice for green building design, offering environmental advantages that can maximise energy efficiency and provide improved indoor environmental quality. EPS provides superior, constant insulation performance over its entire service life of more than 50 years for enhanced durability.
EPS and its uses
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is widely used in modern society due to its many benefits, but in recent times it has attracted controversy, in part because it is misunderstood. It is used in building & construction, packaging and other applications like bicycle helmets.
EPS, like all other manufactured products, has some impact on the environment, but during its lifetime as an insulation product EPS saves considerably more energy than is consumed during its production and use. And it’s not widely known that all non-contaminated EPS can be recycled.
Since the 1950s, expanded polystyrene has been well regarded as a mainstream insulation material. EPS is a material of choice for green building design, offering environmental advantages that can maximise energy efficiency and provide improved indoor environmental quality. EPS provides superior, constant insulation performance over its entire service life of more than 50 years for enhanced durability.
EPS waste facts
tonnes, growing at a rate of 5% per annum, and consisting of:
47,000 tonnes
24,000 tonnes
3,000 tonnes
reprocessed and used locally
Packaging Waste
Australia is not on track to achieve agreed targets for recovered and recycled content. An estimated 45% of packaging was disposed to landfill in 2019-20, representing a loss of resources valued at approximately $360 million.
An additional 1.9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions could have been avoided if this material had been recycled instead of ending up in landfill.
Packaging Waste
Australia is not on track to achieve agreed targets for recovered and recycled content. An estimated 45% of packaging was disposed to landfill in 2019-20, representing a loss of resources valued at approximately $360 million.
An additional 1.9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions could have been avoided if this material had been recycled instead of ending up in landfill.
Future Vision
- Expanding the collection network by increasing the number of drop-off sites and ensuring appropriate compaction technologies are in place.
- Supporting market development of local end markets like waffle pods and pelletisation to enable local manufacture of various products or commodity export.
- Improving consumer education by promoting EPS recycling opportunities to consumers and waste generators.
- Stronger collaborative partnerships for collective action with stakeholders across industry including manufacturing, waste and recycling, and retail.