HOw many uses are there for styrofoam besides the land fill?

Question

Mine would be to grind it, and use it for blow in insulation.

It is already being used for flotation devices, but is it being recycled for that purpose?

Answer 1

Most of the other uses for styrofoam do not constitute recycling but are reuse applications.

When we reuse not only do we get more use, but we avoid the cost of recycling.

But one watch out rule.  Styrofoam put into a chipper can come out burning hot and set on fire whatever it is going into. Even blowing chips can do this. so be ever so cautious of things that can get hot, melt Styrofoam and spew it out as fire. I think we might be safe if we blow air and feed Styrofoam into the air stream. We could add a bit of water to keep dust from sparking a fire.

We might be able to heat Styrofoam until it forms a liquid, and then remake foam to fill wall cavities. But my municipality bans plastic insulation in walls or ceilings because when it gets burning it smokes something awful.

Answer 2

Animals choke and die from it.

Answer 3

My father in law used to run the local recycling center, and he gave us all the styrofoam pellets they got for a month, and my husband used them as wall and ceiling insulation as is, and that was the warmest cinderblock garage I have ever been in. Stayed nice and cool in the summer too.

You can save and reuse it over and over for packing and shipping. If you get a bunch of pellets, and have no use, just post it on freecycle, and someone will take it off your hands for shipping Ebay stuff.

I don't know what they do with the packaging in computer boxes and stuff, those preformed blocks. But your idea for grinding and repurposing it for insulation is a good idea.

Answer 4

Styrofoam is a trademark for the blue insulation that is put on the outside of houses and other buildings.  In addition to being used as insulation, it is used by the movie studios to build sets.

Answer 5

You can mix it with gasoline to make napalm.

Answer 6

1 insulation

2 meat trays are great for crafts to put glue on or paints for the kids they wash up easy and are ready for the next craft project

3 meat trays great for butting beads on when making crafty bead snakes prevents the kids beads from rolling everywhere

4 larger sheets can be used as a pin board

5 attach under canoe seats to add buoyancy to a canoe if it fills with water or tips

6 flutter board for kids swimming toy

7 my favourite place on a outhouse over the hole cut out same hole great for in the winter it really does warm the cheeks when you need to use it and the old plastic seat would have been -40 oc don't laugh it work

(as meat trays I mean the foam plates that raw meat is on when sold in stores)

Answer 7

Small water craft use it for bouyancy, fishing bobbers, packing for moving, insulation in many forms, (cups, temp control attic insulation, coolers), used under casting for broken bones prior to cast being used.

Answer 8

I mixed it with gasoline to patch a hole in my boat once.   Additives that are now in, or were in gasoline when I did this now make air bubbles in the mixture so it isn't as good any more.

Answer 9

Styrofoam or EPS (expanded polysterene solution) are better off in trash.. it contains 98% air and 2% plastic that's why it's not worth recycling.  Due to the fact that it can consume too much space in landfills, Sony suggested this method for disposing EPS in 2000. (http://www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/cx_ne...

Aside from boats, use packing peanuts or pieces of EPS for light-weight drainage in the bottom of hanging planters.

Answer 10

Hi, it's really good to fill the bottam of large pots and planters before putting potting mix in, makes them light to move around and also you don't use as much potting mix....this is done by nurseries also.