News and Insights

Expanded polystyrene’s light weight is an advantage in use and a penalty after use. EPS is approximately 95% to 98% air. A truck can fill its cubic capacity with loose foam long before it approaches its weight limit. Unless the material is compacted near where it is collected, transportation can consume the economics of recycling.

A familiar explanation for slow adoption of recycled polystyrene in food packaging is that food-contact approval is unavailable. The record is more encouraging—and more complicated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Recycled Plastics in Food Packaging database now lists dozens of polystyrene submissions for which the agency issued favorable opinions.

Polystyrene recycling statistics can sound irreconcilable. A June 2026 report from the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance cites a 31% North American recycling rate for expanded-polystyrene transport packaging. California’s January 2026 Material Characterization Study reports recycling rates below 1% for several foamed-PS packaging categories and below 2% for several solid-PS categories.

North American polystyrene processors have spent years hearing that the market has too much capacity. That remains an important part of the price story. It is no longer the whole supply story. On June 18, INEOS Styrolution announced that it would permanently close its Channahon, Illinois, polystyrene site, with shutdown and decommissioning expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company puts the site’s annual capacity at approximately 400,000 metric tons.

Water infrastructure is an obvious growth market for PVC pipe and fittings. EPA's 2026 water-infrastructure funding continues to move federal money through the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, supporting projects that address aging systems, small-community needs and contaminants such as lead and PFAS.

North American plastics processors have learned to watch the Atlantic whenever hurricane season approaches. A storm entering the Gulf of Mexico can interrupt feedstock production, resin plants, rail service and ports within days. This year, however, the more consequential weather story may be developing thousands of miles away in the tropical Pacific. NOAA's September 10 ENSO discussion said El Niño has strengthened over the past month and placed the probability of a very strong event during fall and winter 2026-27 above 90%. NOAA also estimated a 75% chance that the October-December event could exceed the strength of any El Niño measured since 1950.