Environmental Issues

The biggest environmental health concern associated with

polystyrene is the danger associated with Styrene, the basic
building block of polystyrene.
Styrene is used extensively in the manufacture of plastics,
rubber, and resins.
Acute health effects are generally irritation of the skin, eyes,
and upper respiratory tract.
Chronic exposure affects the central nervous system showing
symptoms such as depression, headache, fatigue, and
weakness.
 Styrene is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Polystyrene foam is often dumped into the environment as
litter. This material is notorious for breaking up into pieces
that choke animals and clog their digestive systems.
 Recycling
There seems to be a common misconception that polystyrene
is non-recyclable.
Being a thermoplastic, it can actually be melted and moulded
into many different plastic items.
While the technology for recycling polystyrene is available,
the market for recycling is very small and shrinking.
The cost of transporting bulky polystyrene waste discourages
recyclers from recycling it.
Organizations that receive a large amount of EPS foam
(especially in packaging) can invest in a compactor that will
reduce the volume of the products.
Recyclers will pay more for the compacted product so the
investment can be recovered relatively easier.
 Alternatives
Post-consumer recycled paper, bamboo, corn plastics, etc. are
easily renewable resources.
All of these products biodegrade when composted.
Paper products can be recycled at most people's doorstep
where community recycling is in place.
 Copolymers
Pure polystyrene is brittle, but hard enough that a fairly high-
performance product can be made by giving it some of the
properties of a stretchier material, such
as polybutadiene rubber.
The two such materials can never normally be mixed, but if
polybutadiene is added during polymerization it can become
chemically bonded to the polystyrene, forming
a copolymer which helps to incorporate normal
polybutadiene into the final mix, resulting in high-impact
polystyrene or HIPS, often called high-impact plastic.
 One commercial name for HIPS is Bextrene.
Common applications of HIPS include toys and product
casings.
Several other copolymers are also used with styrene.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS plastic is similar to
HIPS: a copolymer of acrylonitrile and styrene, toughened
with polybutadiene.
Most electronics cases are made of this form of polystyrene,
as are many sewer pipes.
SAN is a copolymer of styrene with acrylonitrile.
 Applications
Polystyrene (PS) is used for producing disposable plastic
cutlery and dinnerware, CD "jewel" cases, license plate
frames, plastic model assembly kits, and many other objects
where a rigid, economical plastic is desired.
Owing to its less price as compared to other costly polymers,
and ease of processing into different shapes and sizes,
polystyrene is also used for making toys.
Another utility is in the manufacturing of smoke detector
housing that is used for detecting smoke in case a fire flares
up.
Perishable food items like meat, fish, eggs, dairy products,
salads etc., can be prevented from spoiling if packed in this
packaging material.
 It is a cost-effective way of food preservation.
Electronic goods and appliances are packed in boxes along
with support material made up of polystyrene.
This long-chain hydrocarbon has excellent insulation capacity,
and is therefore used for construction purposes to insulate
ceilings, walls, floors, etc.
The polymer also finds its utility in soundproofing walls of
buildings.