We have a general problem which we need to address. Plastics are polluting our world and need to be replaced, preferably as soon as possible. The scale of plastic pollution is awesome in its magnitude and ubiquity. That means its everywhere. 

This post focuses on polystyrene.

Polystyrene is an ubiquitous chemical substance which comes in two forms: non-foamed and foamed. Polystyrene is hard and brittle and its best known everyday uses are for CD and DVD cases and disposable cutlery. The foamed form is used for insulation, food trays and packaging material. 

Do not burn Styrofoam or polystyrene. It is made using benzene, a known human carcinogen. Benzene is released into the air if the polystyrene is burned.
Polystyrene makes up a significant part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a slowly rotating collection of plastic in the centre of the North Pacific Ocean Gyre. There are 3.3 million pieces of plastic per square kilometer in the garbage patch. Over 8 billion kilograms of plastic ends up in our oceans each year, much of it polystyrene. These plastics don’t biodegrade, but rather break into increasingly smaller pieces, which can cause harm or death to sea birds, fish, turtles and other marine life.
Using as little polystyrene as possible, and recycling what you do acquire in a responsible manner, is one of the best things you can do for the health of our marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Polystyrene is flammable and contains a multitude of harmful chemicals, making it one of the most challenging items to recycle or reuse.


and styrofoam, a brand name trademarked by Dow Chemical.






Polystyrene is the chemical name for Styrofoam, a brand name trademarked by the Dow chemical company. Polystyrene comes in two forms: foamed and non foamed. The foamed form is used as packing material for electronics, or as meat trays or insulation. In its non-foamed state, polystyrene is used to make disposable cutlery, CD and DVD cases and other hard plastic casings.