LONDON

Polystyrene that could fill 15,000 Olympic sized swimming pools is currently sent to landfill in the U.K. every year. Purex International (Rotherham, England) and Taylor Products (Cardiff, Wales) have worked together to develop a system to thermally densify this waste into a form that can be recycled into new products and fuels.

The main reason companies do not recycle polystyrene is that it does not yield much material compared to its weight and volume. These facts make it expensive to store and transport for little gain. Local authority recycling centres do not separate polystyrene to be sent for recycling either for the same reasons.

The Styromelt polystyrene densifier enables recycling. works by melting a two cubic metre load down into a small, dense and sterilised block of material. This block can be removed from the machine and stored.

Even better news is that the densified polystyrene blocks can be sold to recyclers to make new fuels or products such as garden furniture.