In 2019, APCO, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organization, delivered an extensive program of work towards the 2025 National Packaging Target of phasing out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging. The program has made polystyrene recycling a priority concern for local councils and governments, since we know that about 45,000 tonnes of polystyrene is created each year in Australia and mainly used as disposable containers or short-term packaging, but only 29.7% of which is recycled according to the Australian Packaging Association reports.

Why Does Australia Recycle Polystyrene Packaging?

As mentioned above, most polystyrene foam is created to be used in the packaging industry for short-term use. After finishing packaging missions, the polystyrene waste will be sent to landfills and then become a source of “White Pollution”. Actually, most polystyrene wastes are discarded in the natural world and can neither decay and transform nor degrade and disappear on their own, resulting in serious environmental pollution and wasting valuable non-renewable resources.

The purpose of recycling polystyrene is not only to reduce environmental pollution but also to save resources, which means the recycled polystyrene can be used as the raw material again to make new products. Polystyrene Recycling and Polystyrene Reusing are both ways to help polystyrene waste get its rebirth.

How to Recycle Polystyrene Waste in Australia?

In city and rural areas in Australia, 90% of the waste comes from residents, and the local council is responsible for handling all kinds of waste. Polystyrene is a special waste with bulky volume and lightweight and needs to be recycled by specialized polystyrene recycling equipment.

Polystyrene Recycling for Individuals

Generally speaking, the foam waste from individuals’ is scattered and relatively small in quantity, generated from time to time, so foam recycling is comparatively easy for individuals.

In Australia, there are many drops off facilities for polystyrene recycling, and they are capable of accepting all types of EPS from both packaging and building applications, you can find out where the collection facility is in your state.

Polystyrene Recycling for Business/Recycling Centers/Councils

For those who usually have quantities of waste polystyrene to be processed, such as businesses like foam end producers and recyclers, Recycling Centers and local councils, a suitable polystyrene recycling equipment is indispensable to ensure the smooth progress of polystyrene recycling.

The GREENMAX polystyrene recycling machine, manufactured by INTCO Recycling, focuses on the compression and volume reduction of waste polystyrene foam will be a good choice.

GREENMAX Polystyrene Recycling Machine - Mars Series

INTCO Recycling, located in Auburn NSW, Australia, is the leading provider of renewable polystyrene foam (EPS) solutions, and has been dedicated to providing customers across Australia and New Zealand with integrated polystyrene recycling solutions for 15 years.

GREENMAX Mars Series Hot Melter manufactured by INTCO Recycling is a polystyrene melting machine equipped with the screw melting technology, specialized in reducing the volume of waste expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) by crushing, hot melting and extrusion molding.

The volume ratio of the polystyrene compressed material that has been hot-melted by the polystyrene melting machine to the original foam waste can reach 90:1, greatly reducing the storage space and transportation costs.  Besides the polystyrene waste, GREENMAX Mars Series Polystyrene Melting Machine can also handle foam materials such as EPE, EPP, XPS, PSP, food tableware and fish boxes.