Extruded Polystyrene Foam vs. Styrofoam: What's the Difference? Phil Plotts. Contact Us. This system was developed to provide a consistent national program Read More. PS plastic is commonly used in a variety of consumer product applications and is also particularly useful for commercial packaging. The material is somewhat controversial amongst environmental groups because it is slow to biodegrade and is increasingly present as outdoor litter particularly in the form of foam floating in waterways and the ocean.
The foam form of polystyrene is used most often as a packing material. Polystyrene is typically but not always a homopolymer meaning that it is composed only of the monomer styrene in combination with itself. The name has to do with the way the plastic responds to heat. Thermoplastic materials become fully liquid at their melting point degrees Celsius in the case of Polystyrene , but they begin to flow at their glass transition point degress Celsius for PS.
A major useful attribute about thermoplastics is that they can be heated to their melting point, cooled, and reheated again without significant degradation. Instead of burning, thermoplastics liquefy, which allows them to be easily injection molded and then subsequently recycled. By contrast, thermoset plastics can only be heated once typically during the injection molding process. The first heating causes thermoset materials to set similar to a 2-part epoxy resulting in a chemical change that cannot be reversed.
If you tried to heat a thermoset plastic to a high temperature a second time it would simply burn. This characteristic makes thermoset materials poor candidates for recycling.
Polystyrene is most uniquely useful for its application as a foam. It is the runaway leader in the packaging industry but it also has a wide range of uses as a traditional plastic.
Muze Muze 1. The other part, asking about the affect on the environment is about earth science. But I definitely don't see how it can be "primarily opinion-based".
People should think more before reflexively voting to close. Show 1 more comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. I was wandering if anyone cared. Add a comment. So what is the answer of what to do? Best4One Best4One 1 1 1 bronze badge. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Non-Biodegradable Pollutant It is unknown how long it takes for polystyrene to biodegrade. Some experts estimate the decomposition of Styrofoam to years, with limited recycling options.
When used with food products, especially when heated, Styrofoam releases toxic chemicals into the food causing a contamination which can be hazardous to your health In addition, when exposed to sunlight,Styrofoam creates harmful air pollutants which contaminate landfills and deplete the ozone layer. Styrofoam is one of the most environmentally unfriendly types of waste that exist today impacting our planets ecological system.
Styrofoam Impacts on Landfills Styrofoam is a major environmental problem. Due to the environmental impact, many cities and countries have implemented a banned on the commercial use of Styrofoam, including California; Seattle, Washington; Manila, Philippines; Toronto, Canada; Paris, France; Portland Oregon; and Taiwan Styrofoam Impacts on Animals Styrofoam can harm animals that scavenge food from landfills. Did You Know? Every ton of paper recycled saves 17 trees, 60, gallons of water, kilowatt hours of electricity, One tree yields about paper grocery bags, which will be consumed in less than 1 hour by a supermarket.
A recycled aluminum can is back on the grocery shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days.
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