In a pilot project organised by the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V. and EPS manufacturers, the possibility of sorting polystyrene from the Yellow Bag was examined to see how ecologically and economically sensible it is. At Storopack, new packaging materials are created from the collected waste.

In the joint pilot project between EPS manufacturers and sorting plant operators, EPS has been successfully separated from the yellow bag using infrared technology and collected by type. The EPS collected in the Yellow Bag is sorted out and delivered to Storopack, among others, where it is processed into recycled EPS (recycled expanded polystyrene; rEPS for short). This closes Storopack the packaging cycle, even for post-consumer waste.

The pilot project is currently being further modified and optimised. The results will then be made available to other interested dual systems and plant operators for lightweight packaging. German EPS packaging manufacturers are confident that they will be able to offer their customers packaging made from rEPS in the future that also contains recycled material from the Yellow Bag.

Due to its material properties, EPS is often used as protective packaging for household appliances or electronic goods. While larger moulded parts, such as for furniture or fridges, are often taken back on delivery and disposed of via the retailer, smaller EPS protective packaging remains with the consumer. The latter often puts them in the Yellow Bag, from which they are not fed back into a sorting stream despite their high recyclability. Sorting plant operators classify the quantities as uneconomical. This is precisely where the project comes in. The smaller EPS packaging is 100 per cent recycled in the cycle. According to the company, processing into rEPS saves half the water and around 21 per cent of CO₂-emissions.

Source: Storopack