The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA), a North American coalition advancing innovative polystyrene recycling solutions, issued a comprehensive report documenting the current state of recycling infrastructure, technologies, and end markets for both expanded polystyrene (EPS) transport packaging and rigid polystyrene (HIPS/GPPS) packaging across North America.
The report, informed by rigorous third-party research from Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) and grounded in active regional demonstration projects, presents a detailed account of polystyrene recycling as of 2026 – from collection infrastructure and recycling technologies to verified end markets and investment activity spanning the full value chain.
“This report is about evidence, not aspiration,” said Justin Riney, chair of the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance. “Polystyrene recycling is not a future goal, it is a functioning system with proven technologies, documented end markets, and active projects operating right now in cities across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The question before stakeholders is whether they will use that evidence to support polystyrene playing an important role in the emerging circular economy for plastics.”
The report highlights key findings by the PSRA, including a substantial and independently verified 31 percent recycling rate for EPS transport packaging in North America, roughly 100 million Americans have access to recycle at least one polystyrene item, and the fact that three commercially active recycling technology –mechanical, dissolution and chemical recycling technologies – can recycle polystyrene today.
With Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation advancing in Oregon, Colorado and other states, PSRA calls on policymakers to let the evidence guide fee structures and to use EPR as a catalyst for polystyrene recycling infrastructure that is already proving itself at scale across North America.
Riney continued, “The facts are clear: polystyrene is not a material to be eliminated. It is a circular opportunity already being realized, one investment and one partnership at a time.”
Published September 2026
