By Raymond J. Ehrlich
The PFPG often answers questions from individuals and organizations who are frustrated that they "cannot recycle their food service polystyrene material." The following information helps to explain the economic issues associated with food service polystyrene recycling to increase understanding, and resolve some of the frustration many are feeling.
As the 21st Century begins, the desire of many of us to protect and preserve our environment is stronger than ever. Recycling is one generally easy and convenient way each of us can help. Recycling continues to be an important issue for the polystyrene industry, as well. However, the economic realities of recycling must not be overlooked and recycling should not be viewed as the sole answer when addressing environmental issues.
When recycling is seen as the only way to protect and preserve our environment, we are ignoring many other factors that impact our surroundings. Recycling is just one aspect of a very complex and inter-related issue. In addition to recycling, other issues that combine to directly affect our environment include: natural resource use, pollution generation, energy use, waste generation, waste reduction, reuse, and ultimately waste disposal.
While recycling is viewed by much of the public as primarily a social issue, few people outside the recycling and solid waste management field have examined recycling from an economic perspective. Much of the attention afforded recycling has focused on its perceived value. However, for recycling, or any environmental management alternative to be successful, it must be cost effective. As Sarah Halsted said in the October 27, 1997, issue of Waste Age's Recycling Times, "The relationship between environmental goodwill and sustainability versus market and economic reality puts ... recycling programs in a sometimes uneasy position."
The general economic realities of recycling are true not only for polystyrene, but also for all commonly recycled materials: paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, metal and textiles. Recycling must be economically viable when compared to other methods of waste management and resource conservation.
Polystyrene Food Service Recycling -- A Very Brief History
Around 1988, pressure was put on the polystyrene industry to recycle the most highly visible polystyrene products -- food service containers -- even though all polystyrene packaging products represent one percent by weight of the total municipal solid waste disposed in U.S. landfills. There was significant public pressure to recycle and/or restrict the sale of food service polystyrene, despite the fact that alternative food packaging (paperboard, flexible packaging, aluminum wraps) were not held to the same standard. At that time, eight polystyrene resin supplier companies invested millions of dollars to build a nationwide infrastructure to provide for polystyrene recycling. The National Polystyrene Recycling Company (NPRC), intended to be a catalyst to spur increased polystyrene recycling, initially had five plants on line to recycle post-consumer polystyrene.
How successful has food service polystyrene recycling been from an economic viewpoint? Not very. This was due to several reasons, many of which the industry discussed in the late 1980s. Mainly, the properties of polystyrene that make it an excellent packaging material, e.g., its light weight, energy efficiency, strength and product performance, worked against the mechanics of recycling this material. Just like in the distribution system for polystyrene food service products, transportation distances play a key role. The economics of hauling polystyrene long distances (to the nearest available recycling plant) were not always favorable. The industry learned that polystyrene has to be densified or baled to get a sufficiently concentrated volume to make transportation over long distances cost-effective. Also, food service products of all materials -- paper, metal, plastic, and polystyrene -- are generally highly contaminated, and require cleaning before they can be processed for recycling, which can add significant costs.
Despite these issues, at this time generally transport/protective packaging and non-packaging non-durable polystyrene materials (e.g., audio/video cassettes, CD jewel cases, insulation board, etc.) can still be recycled where programs exist. In 2001, over 25 million pounds of polystyrene transport/protective packaging and almost 30 million pounds of non-packaging non-durable polystyrene materials were recycled. In about 10 years, total polystyrene recycled essentially grew from zero pounds per year to approximately 50 million pounds per year. This is quite an achievement when viewed in comparison to the more traditionally recycled commodities (paper, metals, and textiles) that have been recycled for many, many decades.
Recycling Economics
Economics is a major factor in determining the success or failure of recycling for all materials -- not just for polystyrene. Recycling actually occurs when, and only when, recyclable materials that have been collected, sorted, processed, and remanufactured into new products are purchased by consumers. Recyclable materials separated from garbage should not be viewed as waste, but as a raw material or feedstock for industries to use in making new products. The ultimate success of recycling depends on stable, reliable markets for these materials. Without markets to purchase the collected and separated recyclables, recycling does not happen, with the unfortunate result that these materials often must be disposed of in landfills or waste-to-energy plants.
One of the most basic principles of economics is the principle of supply and demand. Stated simply, when the demand for a particular good or service is greater than the supply, the price that sellers can charge for that good or service increases. Conversely, when the supply of a particular good or service is greater than the demand, the price that sellers can charge decreases. So, what does this have to do with recycling? Everything. This principle describes exactly the situation with recyclables in general and polystyrene specifically. End-use markets are entities that purchase recycled as well as virgin materials from a number of sources and use these materials as feedstock to manufacture new products. Recyclable materials, therefore, compete for markets with virgin supplies of the same material. The opportunities for markets to use recycled material are often actually fewer than those for virgin material, due in part to lower performance characteristics of the recycled material because of contamination.
Recycling, then, depends on the existence of markets for the recovered materials. When a viable market for recycled material exists, the price paid, or the fee charged, for the material is generally at a level that will cover the costs to collect, process, and ship the material.
Polystyrene Recycling -- What's Next?
What does the current state of markets mean for polystyrene recycling? Simply, it means that recycling food service polystyrene does not make economic sense at this time. This does not mean that they are "environmentally bad" products and should not be used. The success of paperboard recycling, for example, does not rest with its food service applications, but with corrugated cardboard and high-grade office papers.
So, what are the options to recycling polystyrene? The options are the same for polystyrene that they are for other materials - recycle those polystyrene products that make economic sense. For example, polystyrene packaging, polystyrene audio and video cassettes, CD jewel cases, and insulation board are being successfully recycled.
Today, the polystyrene industry remains at a crossroads with respect to food service recycling. The economics of recycling and waste disposal have changed since the late 1980s. Contrary to public perception, there is plenty of inexpensive landfill capacity available, significantly reducing the cost of disposal in some areas of the country. Also, public and private institutions that use low cost polystyrene products are often on tight budgets, and have to make the choice of the most cost-effective option between recycling or disposal.
Observations
In the future, we will continue to see an absence of polystyrene food service recycling programs, because in business, economics rule over emotion. Recycling companies, like any other business, must make a profit to survive. If there is not enough market demand for recycled polystyrene material, fewer recyclers will continue to handle polystyrene.
So, what should the polystyrene industry do? It should promote accurate information about polystyrene with regard to the product performance and environmental aspects of polystyrene packaging. Food service polystyrene products are safe, sanitary, energy-conserving, FDA-regulated disposable products. In addition, we should not forget why people purchase polystyrene food service products in the first place: they do the job. They are efficient, low-cost, and are safe in the environment. Should polystyrene food service packaging be recycled only when it makes economic sense? The balance between recycling as an ethic and recycling purely as an economic issue is one in which we all have varying opinions.
