How long does it take for Styrofoam to disintegrate?

Question

This is a two part question. Many items are shipped in Styrofoam today. I thought it was bad for the environment. Is it a recyclable??

Answer 1

Sorry G Man, but petroleum based styrofoam is not biodegradable.  At least all the styrofoam ever made still exists today and will probably be around for thousands of years.  (I was trying to find a reference but couldn't find anything definitive - anything from 80 years to 2000 years to never).

One thing styrofoam does do is disintegrate into tiny, bite size pieces.  I was doing a river bank cleanup once and was picking up fragments for hours.  Since that day I swore I would never use a styrofoam cooler again.

Answer 2

1000 years

Answer 3

no, not recyclable, but degrades in about 90 days which is very fast compared to most things

Answer 4

while true that styrofoam in it's original for does not desintigrate it can be reused...have you ever noticed the little white beads in your potting soil used to help airate the roots...It is also very noxious to burn...But now a days....most styrofoam is actually a corn based product that disentigrates in around 90 days....I think this might be what g-man is thinking of....all the major fast food places use this stuff and it is safe for the environment....well safer...I don;t know about all the ramifications in production....but it does biodegrade!! oddly it is still called styrofoam...you would think that they would have given it a whole new name..but it was the 80's when this stuff was introduced  so I guess the whole earth friendly thing was taking a sabaticle to make room for big hair and pink high tops.