Ken Jones showed the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, the results of recycling expanded polystyrene in Bergen County, New Jersey, where 11 tons of foam were diverted from landfill and recycled. This prompted the town of Falmouth to conduct research on the possibility of foam recycling.

Before 2018, almost all of foam waste generated in Bergen County ended up in landfills. But three years later, 11 tons of foam waste was recycled and reused. Bergen County solved the problem of transporting foam waste by using EPS densifiers, improving storage space management efficiency and waste management capabilities. And because of the widespread market demand for recycled foam materials, many recyclers are happy to buy foam ingots compacted by EPS densifiers, which solves the problem of foam sales. Although Falmouth prohibits the use of foam coffee cups and EPS packaging, EPS packaging often reappears when residents buy large appliances. Therefore, Falmouth began to consider the feasibility and returns of foam recycling programs.

Foam recycling processes waste foam into PS particles, which can be mixed with virgin plastic to make new foam packaging or environmentally friendly products, such as outdoor flooring, picture frames, etc. The large-scale practicability of foam recycling has been recognized internationally, and the proportion of recycled materials added to plastic products has been stipulated. For example, the EU requires that plastic products must add at least 30% recycled materials by 2030. However, due to the lightweight nature of foam, large-scale transportation of foam materials is a big problem in recycling. As an EPS recycling company, INTCO Recycling has developed a professional EPS densifier to improve transportation and storage efficiency. Foam densifier is a device specifically used for volume reduction of foam, which can reduce the volume of foam to one-ninetieth of the original through the principle of hot melting. The EPS densifier is very simple to operate and is equipped with a three-level temperature control technology. Therefore, recyclers only need to activate the start/stop button and adjust different temperatures for foam recycling. Different from traditional screw extrusion, foam densifier crushes the material, melts it efficiently, and then cools and solidifies it. This method completely removes the air in EPS and achieves the best EPS volume reduction effect. The truck can load 20-25 tons of EPS hot melt material, achieving efficient transportation and maximizing space management capabilities. The high compression ratio and easy operation of INTCO Recycling EPS densifier make it more popular with consumers than cold-press compactor, hydraulic compactor and other equipment in the market.

In addition to improved transportation and storage efficiency, the hot melt materials produced by EPS densifier can significantly improve the subsequent granulation efficiency and maximize the benefits of foam recycling. The density of hot melt foam ingots compressed by foam densifier is generally 600-800kg/m3, and the density of EPS produced by cold-press compactor is 100-300kg/m3. Therefore, downstream buyers generally prefer to purchase hot melt EPS ingots, because cold-pressed material has low compression and granulation capacity is much lower than the basic capacity of foam granulator. Considering that each customer has different foam recycling needs, some customers have large foam waste capacity, some customers have insufficient factory space, and some customers' waste contains a lot of water. INTCO Recycling, as a professional EPS recycling company, has sufficient capabilities and information to provide each customer with a tailor-made foam recycling solution. For customers who produce a large amount of EPS foam, we have EPS densifier M-C300 with a capacity of 300kg/h, which can well help customers solve the problem of foam accumulation. For customers with limited storage space, INTCO Recycling can provide vehicle-mounted or mobile foam densifiers to make flexible use of space. If the customer's waste mostly contains a certain amount of moisture, INTCO Recycling recommends replacing the ordinary heating plate of the EPS densifier with an electromagnetic heating plate, which can ensure the compression efficiency during the foam recycling process, and the heating temperature will not be reduced due to moisture evaporation.

As an EPS recycling company, INTCO Recycling can help you maximize your foam recycling benefits.