EPS Industry Alliance releases 2013 recycling report

The EPS Industry Alliance (EPS-IA), Crofton, Maryland, an industry-backed organization that works to promote the use and recycling of expanded polystyrene (EPS), has released its annual report documenting the amount of EPS recycled in the United States in 2013.

According to the organization’s 2013 EPS Recycling Rate Report, the EPS recycling rate reached 34 percent in 2013, an all-time high for postconsumer and postcommercial recycling. At the same time, the report notes that the industrial recovery level decreased slightly from 56.9 million pounds in 2012 to 54.5 in 2013.

According to the report, more than 125 million pounds of EPS were recycled in 2013, which includes all postconsumer, postcommercial and industrial recovery. This information was collected from 41 EPS manufacturers and independent recyclers in the United States.

The amount of EPS being recycled is growing steadily, according to the EPS-IA. The increase, the alliance notes, is in light of ongoing collection and processing technology advancements as well as new market developments for recycled EPS.

The full report is available here.