UNCW Recycling received a 2024 Carolina Recycling Association (CRA) Award for expanding its foam recycling program. The recycling company accepts materials including EPS and EPE.

In 2023, UNCW received a $9,627 grant from the Foodservice Packaging Institute’s Foam Recycling Coalition to purchase four containers to collect EPS foam. That same year, UNCW Recycling added expanded polyethylene (EPE) to its foam recycling portfolio, which is typically shipping packaging and is also the raw material for pool foam bars. Now, foam packaging, pool foam bars and other items can be dropped off at UNCW public recycling stations.

The collected EPS and EPE products need to be compacted by the foam compactor before entering the next step of the foam recycling process. Because EPS and EPE are both large and light foams, direct transportation and storage are obviously inefficient and expensive. GREENMAX foam compactor can compress them at a ratio of 50:1, increasing transportation and space management efficiency by 50 times.

This foam compactor can not only handle EPS foam, but also perform EPE recycling. EPE is a foam with high elasticity, which cannot be handled by ordinary cold-press compactors. Because ordinary cold-press compactors on the market use physical compression technology, EPE foam may rebound or expand after compaction, and the expected compaction effect cannot be achieved.

GREENMAX foam compactor adds surface hot melting technology on the basis of screw physical compaction, so that EPE foam blocks solidify at high temperature and cool quickly, effectively preventing the foam from loosening from the inside, and smoothly carrying out EPE recycling. This foam recycling equipment can also help with EPS recycling. The foam compactor is equipped with an automatic cutting function and the compacted foam blocks can be transported to a pallet.

GREENMAX engineers will set the matching foam compression mode based on the in-depth understanding of the customer's material recycling needs, such as the density, toughness and production capacity of the foam. Customers can directly select the corresponding compression mode to process EPS or EPE. If the customer's subsequent foam recycling needs change, GREENMAX can still provide you with modifications and additions to the processing procedures.

GREENMAX foam compactor has high material compatibility and can efficiently process EPE, EPS and other foams, achieving multiple uses of one machine. In addition, GREENMAX will also provide sales solutions for compressed foam blocks to help customers achieve one-stop foam recycling. We provide repurchase services at preferential prices, or provide customers with other local sales channels.

If you have any questions about EPS recycling or EPE recycling, GREENMAX is happy to answer them for you.