Expanded polystyrene (EPS)

Image showing expanded polystyrene packaging
Image showing a hand in a pile of polystyrene beads
Image showing polystyrene packaging

Expanded Polystyrene foam (EPS) is a versatile, low cost, rigid, closed cell foam produced from solid beads of polystyrene which expand when heat (in the form of steam) is applied to them. These expanded cells occupy approximately 40 times the volume of the original solid beads, resulting in a very light-weight, fully recyclable material, 98% of which is simply air. Many of our grades also contain at least 30% recycled material, thereby avoiding the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT).

At Excel Packaging, we convert large blocks of expanded polystyrene into sheets or pads using hot-wires. Further processing can be undertaken by CNC routing, or by hot-wire ‘scooping’ or ‘profiling’ to create the finished packaging product.