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Polystyrene is available in various forms; here is a mention of the two most widely used ones.

Polystyrene is represented by the number


EPS was invented in 1952 by BASF. It is a lightweight cellular material derived from petroleum and natural gas by-products.

The raw material for EPS is produced in the form of small polystyrene beads containing a blowing agent (pentane) which, when exposed to steam, expand to form a light weight "prefoam" of required density.

This "prefoam" is then processed by further steam treatment until the beads fuse together, either in a mould to give that material a required shape and size or as large blocks for cutting into sheets and shapes.


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Food packaging: Yoghurt tubs, vending cups, salad containers, egg trays, meat trays, hamburger clam shells

Protective and display packaging:

Cosmetic containers, CD cases, jewelry containers, calendar stands, cassette housings, display boxes for pens, emblems and signs

Other: Shower doors, medical trays and laboratory ware, pens and rulers, retail coat hangers.

High Impact Polystyrene (Hips): (OPAQUE)

Retail coat hangers, computer, television and radio housings, printers, keyboards, refrigerator, freezer and cooler liners, toothbrush handles, combs and razors, medical trays and laboratory ware, telephone housing, trays.

High impact polystyrene, HIPS is used in many applications because of its excellent balance of properties and low cost. Electrical/Electronics and appliances are the two most important segments requiring flame redundancy in applications where temperature does not exceed 80?‚�C. E.g. Yoghurt pots, refrigerator linings, vending cups, bathroom cabinets, toilet seats and tanks, closures, instrument control knobs.
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Food Packaging: meat, trays, fruit boxes, vending cups, fish boxes, take away clamshells.

Building and construction: Under floor heating systems, drainage boards, displays, prefabricated walls, decorative gables and facades, suspending ceilings and insulation panels.

Protective packaging: For industrial, pharmaceutical and retail use; seedling trays

Insulation: Cooler boxes, cold rooms, refrigeration, fermentation tanks, vessels, pipe lagging.


Whether packaging for food products, in office and information technology or refrigerators- all sectors place high demands on the properties of the materials used. In its diverse variants HIPS offers extraordinary property combinations, thus making a vital contribution to everyday life.
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Polystyrene provides strength, lightness, durability, heat resistance, transparency, gloss, desirable appearance and practical toughness for a wide range of uses, including: packaging, medical products, appliances and electronic products.
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High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) is rubber modified impact polystyrene with Izod impact values between 1.5 and 2.5 ft-lb/in. Izod impact measures the amount of energy a notched injection molded specimen absorbs while being struck with an instrumented hammer. Typical applications include food service disposables, appliance housings, housewares, toys, electronic applications and industrial packaging such as yogurt containers.
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Advantages of high impact polystyrene: Excellent vacuum forming properties, light and dimensionally stable, excellent electrical properties, good impact strength, low water absorption and non- toxic.
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HIPS is a low cost plastic material that is easy to machine and fabricate. HIPS is often specified for low strength structural applications, when impact resistance, machinability, and low cost are required. It is frequently used machining pre- production prototypes since it has excellent dimensional stability and is easy to fabricate, paint and glue. Natural ( translucent white) HIPS is FDA complaint for use in food processing applications. The following physical property information is based on typical values of the base high impact polystyrene resin. Advantages:
  1. Good impact resistance
  2. Excellent Machinability
  3. Good dimensional stability
  4. Excellent aesthetic qualities
  5. Easy to paint and glue
  6. Low cost
  7. FDA complaint

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When it comes to selecting the best food service packaging products, polystyrene packaging delivers. No other food service packaging material provides polystyrene's unique combination of performance, economic and environmental benefits. Polystyrene food service packaging:

  • Is extremely strong yet lightweight
  • Provides excellent insulation
  • Enhances food service sanitation and protects public health
  • Is less expensive than many other food service packaging options
  • Has less environmental impact during its manufacture than paperboard food service packaging.
  • Government officials, school administrators and parents have an increased sense of security about the safety of food service in their children's schools.
  • The ability of outreach programs to provide delivered, ready to eat meals to elderly and homebound is enhanced.
  • The long-distance driver knows the cup will be sturdy and the beverage warm for many miles.
  • The single person and the working parent know the dinner they pick up on the way home will stay warm and ready to eat without spilling.


Polystyrene food service packaging is safe for use by consumers. The United States Food and Drug Administration regulates the safety of food-contact packaging and has allowed the use of polystyrene as a food-contact packaging material since 1958. Polystyrene has also been approved by government organisations for use around the world, including Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.
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?Polystyrene food service packaging provides a very effective means to ensure sanitary food service and helps prevent the spread of disease. Compared to reusable food service products that require washing and sterilization before reuse - such as ceramic mugs, stainless steel utensils and china plates - disposable polystyrene food service packaging is significantly more sanitary at the point just prior to the consumer receiving the items.


Polystyrene food service products are generally more economical to use than disposable paperboard products and reusable food service items. The wholesale price of polystyrene disposable food service products is often approximately two to three times less than a comparable reusable food service item when equipment, labour, water, electricity, and detergent costs are included.


Polystyrene food service containers are sturdy, strong, and insulate better than paper and the other disposable food service containers. Polystyrene food service products insulate better, keeping food fresher longer and costs less than paperboard based products. This means food and beverages stay warmer and fresher longer, resulting in less food and packaging waste due to spoilage, damaged packaging and leakage.

Also, because of polystyrene food service packaging's excellent insulation and strength, practices such as "double-cupping" are eliminated, significantly reducing the number of containers and corresponding resources used.


Options for safe and efficient disposal of polystyrene food service packaging are the same as for other municipal solid wastes. This includes the integrated solid waste management systems.

  • Source reduction
  • Reuse
  • Recycling
  • Landfilling
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?All polystyrene packaging comprises only a tiny fraction of the material that goes into our landfills.

In fact, less than one percent by weight of the total municipal solid waste disposed is polystyrene. Paper and paperboard products make up the largest category of material ( Approx 31 %) disposed in our landfills.

Biodegradability - Very little of the waste discarded in today's modern, highly engineered landfills biodegrades. Because degradation of materials creates potentially harmful liquid and gaseous by-products that could contaminate groundwater and air, today's landfills are designed to minimize contact with air and water required for degradation, thereby practically eliminating the degradation of waste.

Even though recycling and re-use continue to grow with popularity, most of the waste in South Africa still goes to landfill. Polystyrene waste is effectively and safely disposed of in landfills, without any harm to the environment. EPS actually improves aeration in landfills. The PSPC is committed to reducing polystyrene in landfills in South Africa.

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?Source reduction makes a positive contribution toward conserving resources- as significant as recycling. Between 1974 and 1997, the amount of polystyrene packaging diverted from disposal through source reduction increased approximately 40-fold. Through source reduction, the weight of an average polystyrene foam plate is 25% less than 1974, while still maintaining functional performance.

One way to evaluate the impact of source reduction is to compare the resource saved by preventing waste verses recycling. The amount of polystyrene material source reduced in 1997 has an energy savings equivalent to a recycling rate of 51% of the polystyrene packaging and disposables produced in 1997.

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?All carbon based materials, including wood, paper, charcoal and plastics create noxious fumes when burned in uncontrolled situations. However, each of these materials, including polystyrene, can be safely burned in modern incinerators. Polystyrene's energy content is very high, about 16,000 BTUs/pound, which is about twice that of coal; and this high- energy content aids in the burning of other solid wastes. Incineration converts polystyrene to carbon dioxide, water vapour, and a trace amount of non-toxic ash.
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No CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) are used in the manufacture of any polystyrene foam packaging products and have not been since 1990. In fact, most polystyrene foam products never were made with CFC's. Those few that did use CFC's comprised a very small portion of U.S CFC use. By 1990, those few polystyrene manufacturers that did use them had announced the voluntary phase-out of CFC's.
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?On a comparable weight basis, polystyrene food service packaging, such as a foam cup, use approximately one-sixth the amount of total raw materials as it takes top manufacture a coated bleached paperboard cup.


The manufacture of polystyrene food service products, such as cups, plates and high hinged containers, produces approximately 46 percent less air emissions, 42 percent less waterborne waste. And requires approximately 30 percent less energy than the manufacture of comparable coated bleached paperboard products.
  • Preventing litter:A widely held misconception is that litter is a problem caused by specific materials themselves rather than aberrant consumer behavior. The reality is that some people improperly dispose of material by littering. To address concerns effectively, the polystyrene industry supports the Enviromark, the plastics industry environmental initiative, that work to prevent plastics litter across the country.

    The role of foamed polystyrene in food packaging

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