In the era of rapid development, pollution has become the number one problem blocking human green life. Among them, soil, water, and air pollution caused by Styrofoam are the most serious. The United States is the world's largest garbage producer, filling up American landfills at an alarming rate. 5% of the world’s population produces 40% of the world’s garbage. And waste Styrofoam accounted for 1/3 of the average garbage dump. So, it’s really time to conduct Styrofoam recycling now. 



What Is Styrofoam?
Styrofoam, also known as polystyrene foam, is a sturdy material, moisture-proof, composed of 98% air-light and buoyant. Its low cost and easy production make polystyrene foam enter our lives. From energy-saving building insulation materials to surfboards, from soilless hydroponic gardening to aircraft manufacturing, Styrofoam is regarded as the trend of the future until environmental problems that arise. It does not biodegrade; it only dissipates and becomes toxic when it decomposes.



How Did People Deal with Styrofoam in the Past?
Styrofoam is usually sent to landfills. Once it enters the landfill, it will not decompose quickly. Some people estimate that the lifespan of Styrofoam in landfills is about 500 years, while other estimates are much more than that. Moreover, not all Styrofoam will be landfilled. Some people estimate this ratio to be 20%, at least in the United States. Many of them are just scattered around the landscape, and the decomposed Styrofoam cells will enter streams, lakes, and oceans. There, they may be eaten by aquatic animals and even eventually enter the human body. There are still some people who realize Styrofoam can be recycled. Agilyx, a chemical recycling company, can mix Styrofoam with other types of plastic products and convert it into an oil that can be used to make everything from bicycle helmets to high-quality synthetic crude oil.
So, if it is possible to recycle polystyrene foam, why hasn’t it been as popular as other materials? Facts have proved that it all boils down to Styrofoam's large size and lightweight. The efficiency of recycling is low.



What’s the Best Way to Recycle Styrofoam?
To solve the problem of Styrofoam’s low-weight-size ratio, there are some recycling machines that aim to compact Styrofoam at a very low ratio. For instance, GREENMAX Styrofoam compactor provided by INTCO Recycling are compactors that cut Styrofoam into small pieces and then compact it at a ratio of 50:1. In this way, the storage and transportation problems of Styrofoam have been solved. Recyclers can completely compress Styrofoam into ingots on the spot, and then send ingots to be processed into new products or sell ingots directly. These technologically mature machines will bring a new era of dealing with Styrofoam environmentally with less pollution. So，it’s time to Styrofoam recycling instead of landfilling.