Look around you, wherever you happen to be. Whether you are at home, in a classroom, an office, shopping or even alone in a truck or 4WD in the middle of a desert, you are sure to find plastics around you.

There are good reasons for the universal popularity of plastics, especially polystyrene which is an important and widely used plastic.

There is also concern by some groups in the community over the environmental impact of polystyrene.

Here we present the answers to some of the more common questions.


What is Polystyrene?

Polystyrene is a high molecular weight polymer which is composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms, and is used to mould plastic articles.

Polystyrene is found in a wide range of products in the home, including appliances, packaging and entertainment. Major applications are refrigerator components, washing machine panels, food packaging, cassettes, TVs, coat hangers, bathroom-ware and single use kitchen-ware.

How is Polystyrene made?

Polystyrene is manufactured by polymerising styrene monomer which is in turn produced from benzene and ethylene. Benzene is derived from:

1. crude oil fractionation, or
2. waste product from making coke for steel manufacture. Ethylene is produced from ethane, a component of natural gas.

NO APPRECIABLE WASTE.
What waste products are produced during the manufacture of Polystyrene?

Polystyrene manufacture is a relatively clean process.

Small volumes of liquid and gaseous wastes are generated and these are treated within the plants. Waste polystyrene generated during production is reprocessed or sent to a recycler.

THE MANY ADVANTAGES OF A MOST ENERGY EFFICIENT PACKAGING MATERIAL.
What are the benefits of Polystyrene?

Polystyrene has many advantages, which include:

• Lightweight: reduces transport fuel consumption and the cost of distributing products.
• Performance: provides insulation and protection from contamination and impact.
• Economy: usually less expensive than alternative materials resulting in savings to the consumer.
• Energy Savings: polystyrene manufacture requires less energy than alternatives resulting in lower "greenhouse" emissions. As insulation, polystyrene foam enables enormous energy savings in commercial installations such as cool stores.

SAFE, HYGIENIC POLYSTYRENE, THE ENEMY OF BACTERIA.
Is Polystyrene safe to use in contact with food?

Yes. For more than 40 years, polystyrene has been in widespread use as a hygienic material for protecting and preserving food. In fact, one reason polystyrene single use food containers are so widely used in hospitals and other sensitive environments is that they are significantly more hygienic than the alternatives. Polystyrene does not harbour bacteria which is a major concern among health specialists.

An American study* shows that 1 in 7 reusable dishes harbour a level of bacteria which exceeds US health standards. In contrast, no disposable food service items exceeded the standard.

*Charles W. Felix, Chet Parrow and Tanya Parrow. "Utensil Sanitation: A Microbiological Study of Disposables & Reuseables", Journal of Environmental Health.

CHECK THE GLOSSARY

Back to Top | Next