Can you recycle polystyrene? Yes, but not in your bin
Polystyrene is recyclable. It is also 98% air, which is the whole problem: a lorry load of it weighs almost nothing, and nothing is hard to make money from.
Polystyrene: key facts
| Resin code | 6, PS |
|---|---|
| What EPS is | Expanded polystyrene, about 98% air by volume |
| Density | Moulded between roughly 12 and 50 kg per cubic metre |
| Household kerbside | Not collected. Expanded and high impact polystyrene are explicitly excluded |
| Commercial recycling | Works where volumes are large and concentrated |
| England ban | Single-use polystyrene food and drink containers and cups banned since 1 October 2023 |
Why your bin will not take it
Not because it cannot be recycled. Because moving it does not pay. The British Plastics Federation describes expanded polystyrene as 98% air, moulded at densities between roughly 12 and 50 kilograms per cubic metre. Put that next to a bale of cardboard and the economics write themselves: a full lorry of loose EPS carries a fraction of a tonne, and the diesel costs the same either way.
On top of that it is bulky in a sorting facility, breaks into beads that contaminate other streams, and is frequently contaminated with food. England's workplace recycling rules list polystyrene, both expanded and high impact, among the plastics that cannot typically be collected, alongside PVC.
Where it does get recycled
In commercial volumes, and the key is concentration. A fish market, a white goods retailer, a builders' merchant, an electronics distributor or a construction site all generate EPS in one place in quantity, and at that point compacting it on site changes everything. Densified EPS is a transportable material with a market.
The BPF's EPS Group, which represents most of the UK EPS manufacturing industry, states a UK EPS packaging recycling rate of 66% for 2023, with the majority of what is collected converted into extruded polystyrene insulation panels for the construction industry, and around two new facilities opening each year. That is an industry body's own figure rather than an official statistic, so treat it as such, but the direction is clear enough: commercial EPS recycling exists and is growing, household EPS recycling largely does not.
The England ban, and what it does not cover
Since 1 October 2023 it has been an offence in England to supply, in the course of a business, a single-use polystyrene food or drink container or a single-use polystyrene cup, under the Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc.) (England) Regulations 2023. The ban covers both expanded and extruded polystyrene, and applies to containers for food or drink that is ready to eat or drink without further preparation.
One important carve out: polystyrene boxes used to transport unprocessed or unprepared food through the supply chain are not banned. The boxes fishers use for fresh fish are the example GOV.UK gives. So the fish box is lawful and the takeaway clamshell is not, which is why EPS has not vanished from the waste stream.
The position in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differs, and each nation has moved separately on single-use items. If you operate across borders, check the current rules for each nation rather than assuming the English dates apply.
What to do with it
At home: check your council's list, because a small number of household waste recycling centres take EPS, but most do not. If yours does not, it goes in general waste. Breaking it up first does not help and spreads beads everywhere.
At work, in quantity: this is worth solving properly. Get a figure for how much you generate by volume per week, then ask collectors about on-site compaction. The question that decides it is whether you produce enough in one place to justify a machine, and some suppliers of white goods and electronics will take packaging back.
Our directory lets you search by postcode and material for companies collecting plastics, with phone numbers and websites where we have found them.
Polystyrene is the awkward end of a stream that mostly works well, and our guide to plastic recycling covers the polymers that do get collected.
Frequently asked questions
Can polystyrene go in my recycling bin?
No. Expanded and high impact polystyrene are explicitly excluded from kerbside dry recycling collections. A small number of household waste recycling centres accept it, so check your council's list, but most do not.
Why is polystyrene so hard to recycle?
Because it is about 98% air, moulded at between roughly 12 and 50 kilograms per cubic metre. A full lorry of loose polystyrene carries a fraction of a tonne, so transporting it costs far more than the material is worth.
Is polystyrene banned in the UK?
Single-use polystyrene food and drink containers and cups have been banned in England since 1 October 2023. Polystyrene boxes used to transport unprocessed food through the supply chain, such as fish boxes, are not banned. Other UK nations have moved separately.
Can businesses recycle polystyrene?
Yes, where volumes are large and concentrated. Compacting it on site turns it into a transportable material with a market, and most collected UK EPS is converted into extruded polystyrene insulation panels.
Should I break polystyrene up before binning it?
No. It does not help and it spreads loose beads, which contaminate other recycling streams and are hard to clear up.
Sources
- Expanded and extruded polystyrene, British Plastics Federation
- EPS recycling: the facts, BPF EPS Group
- The Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc.) (England) Regulations 2023
- Single-use plastics ban: plates, bowls, trays, containers, cutlery and balloon sticks, GOV.UK
- Simpler Recycling: workplace recycling in England, GOV.UK