Sty­ro­foam has late­ly made head­lines. The rea­son? A new, pas­sed con­ven­ti­on by the EU, that will also cau­se con­se­quen­ces in Ger­ma­ny, sin­ce old insu­la­ti­on Sty­ro­foam is now har­der to dis­po­se of than spe­cial was­te. One ton of real spe­cial was­te cos­ts less than 2.000€ when dis­po­sed of — sor­ted Sty­ro­foam cos­ts 7.000€.

Up to 2014, Sty­ro­foam has been great­ly enri­ched with the fire inhi­bi­tor HBCR and is now con­si­de­red as a per­sis­tent, orga­nic pol­lutant (POP).

Even if recy­cled Sty­ro­foam, which is also reu­sed in pack­a­ging, can still be detec­ted wit­hin some cases of HBCR.

If they stick to the cur­rent regu­la­ti­on, Sty­ro­foam will be hard­ly recy­clab­le and won’t be allo­wed to be deposited.