Topic: | Re:Re Polystyrene | |
Posted by: | Philippa Bond | |
Date/Time: | 08/11/11 19:22:00 |
You beat me to it Nigel! What we are mostly talking about is Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) also known as Polystyrene Foam. There are other sorts of polystyrene and it is often marked as Plastic No 6 or PS with the recycling triangle. Yes polystyrene releases carbon monoxide when it burns. Remember when you used to see a lot of polystyrene ceiling tiles. When those caught fire they dropped melting flaming plastic. The website I found for Styropack has had me laughing all afternoon. It seems very smart and new. EPS is a good insulation material and when used where it can be reused and recycled in a closed loop system that has to be a great improvement. What I could not find on the website was a single mention of the word 'plastic'. Apparently this material is 'inert in landfill'! That sounds so benign. How long is that for then? 500 years? 1,000 years? Until we mine the landfills? The contract is the Council's. They need to tell us exactly what we can and can't put in. I feel they are (ie we all are) really missing out by the info not being as clear as it could be. |