Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is widely used in the packaging industry due to its shock-absorbing and water-resistant properties, while extruded polystyrene (XPS) is commonly used as insulation material in the construction sector. Jeffrey McNaught, owner of Edgewater Surf in Rocky River, discovered an eco-friendly use for these materials, preventing them from ending up in landfills.

McNaught runs his surf shop and collects donated EPS and XPS foam in a small shed outside the store. Larger blocks of foam are transformed into surfboards that can be used around Lake Erie. Through a process of bonding, cutting, and sanding—followed by fiberglass coating—each surfboard becomes unique in both design and function. These foam boards, created through EPS recycling and XPS recycling, have already gained public interest for their creative and sustainable approach.

Not all donated foam can be turned into surfboards. For smaller pieces of EPS and XPS, McNaught uses a foam hydraulic compactor to crush and compress the material into dense foam blocks. These compacted blocks are then sold in pallet form to other companies, where they are used to produce new EPS foam or polystyrene products—such as picture frames.

Through specialized EPS recycling and XPS recycling, these foam waste materials can become valuable raw materials for new products. However, in many regions, EPS foam is typically considered non-recyclable, mainly because it is lightweight yet takes up a large volume, making collection and transportation inefficient and economically unviable.

The foam hydraulic compactor was specifically developed to address the storage and transportation challenges of EPS recycling. This foam recycling machine first shreds EPS into uniform pieces, then uses a powerful hydraulic system to compress the material into dense blocks—at a compression ratio of up to 70:1. It also offers high material compatibility, making it suitable not only for EPS recycling, but also for XPS recycling.

Compared to traditional cold-press foam recycling machines and EPS hot melting machines, the foam hydraulic compactor combines the advantages of both technologies.

The cold-press foam compactor typically achieves a compression ratio of 50:1 and does not alter the chemical structure of the material, which means the compacted blocks retain physical properties similar to virgin material.

On the other hand, the EPS hot melting machine uses high-temperature melting to reduce foam volume, but this process can cause cell collapse and affect the material’s performance. However, its high compression ratio of 90:1 is still favored by many recyclers for maximizing EPS recycling efficiency per unit volume.

The foam hydraulic compactor, by contrast, uses a powerful hydraulic system to compress foam without changing its chemical structure, while achieving a compression ratio of 70:1—higher than that of the cold-press method. This results in improved transportation efficiency and material reusability.

If you're interested in learning more about this machine, visit the GREENMAX official website, where detailed technical specifications and expert support are available.

By creating surfboards and using a foam hydraulic compactor to process EPS and XPS foam, this surf shop has already prevented more than 4,000 pounds of foam from ending up in landfills.

If you're also looking to start your own EPS recycling or XPS recycling journey, GREENMAX can provide you with a one-stop recycling solution tailored to your needs.