Recycled polystyrene balls are reprocessed into items such as photo frames and architraves.
Who hasn’t opened a box containing an electrical good only to groan at the polystyrene packing – call it ‘styrofoam’ if you like – that has been cleverly shaped to protect it in transit. The challenge then becomes getting it into the recycling bin before it can break up, leaving bits of white synthetic aromatic hydrocarbon polymer (to use its proper name) all over the house or garden.
While this unloved but useful product has long been recyclable it can now be handled in greater quantity thanks to funding from the NSW Environment Protection Authority for Lismore City Council’s Recycling & Recovery Centre to instal a new processing machine.
Commercial Services Business Manager Kevin Trustum said, ‘In 2009, the NSW EPA Better Waste and Recycling Fund allowed Lismore City Council to be one of the first Councils in Australia to have a dedicated polystyrene recycling machine, and now in 2021 the recent extra funding has upgraded the recycling capacity.’
Currently the Council recycles around 30 tonnes of polystyrene a year, saving around 550 cubic metres of landfill. The new machine can process up to 300 kilograms of polystyrene per hour by crushing and sorting the foam, then pushing it through heating rings that melt and cut it.
The question always asked about recyclables is what happens to them after they’re compacted. In this case the answer is surprising: the polystyrene is cut into golf ball-sized material, cooled and made ready to sell to countries, including Malaysia, where it is recycled into items such as photo frames and architraves.
The total cost of the project is $191,000 with a contribution of $131,378 from the NSW Environment Protection Authority, Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, funded from the waste levy. Residents can recycle their polystyrene free of charge by taking the material directly to either the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre or at the Nimbin Transfer Centre drop off area.
