Polystyrene

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) cannot be collected in your council recycling service.

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is a lightweight, rigid cellular plastic that is used widely as a packaging medium. Its shock absorbing characteristics lend it to uses as storage and transport of fragile and expensive items such as electronic equipment, chemicals and wines.

Drop Off facilities for Polystyrene

Expanded Polystyrene Australia is the national EPS Industry Group. They are the drivers behind collection facilities in the capital city of each mainland state. These facilities are capable of accepting all types of EPS from both packaging and building applications. To find out where the collection facility is in your state, visit the Expanded Polystyrene Australia website.

Find out more about single-use plastics here.

About Polystyrene/Foam

EPS is comprised of 98% air.
EPS is derived from a non-renewable resource - oil.
Polystyrene is a type of plastic.

Confusion with polystyrene

Some polystyrene materials such as foam cups, trays or foam packaging are marked with this symbol.
This symbol is part of the Plastic Identification Code.
This code identifies the type of plastic the product is - not if it can be recycled.
People often confuse the 'plastic identification code' for the general recycling symbol (mobius loop), which involves three chasing arrows.
We've developed the Australasian Recycling Label to make it clearer for consumers to find out what packaging is recyclable