Being chemically inert, durable, and versatile, styrenics are the material of choice for diverse packaging solutions protecting our goods, from food to cosmetics, medicines as well as industrial goods. Styrenics are very resistant to damage and heat. This is key for food packaging applications, as it increases products’ shelf life, ensuring consumer safety and reducing food waste by keeping food fresh for longer. 

Moreover, styrenics contribute to sustainable packaging solutions thanks to an excellent circularity capacity, exceeding other packaging materials and avoiding downcycling. Styrenic polymers are easily sortable and can be recycled back over and over again into high-value applications, including for food contact, thus allowing for a closed-loop system and for reaching the EU’s recycling targets.

Styrenics are also very lightweight leading to a lower environmental impact compared to alternative materials. For instance, a socio-economic analysis of styrenic polymers conducted by Wood1 estimated that using expanded polystyrene (EPS) boxes instead of cardboard boxes to transport just 20% of all fishery products consumed in the EU per year, would result in fuel savings of almost 1.2 million litres, as well as significant CO2 emission savings. About 79% of the fuel and emissions are related to the weight of the packaging. Therefore, their light weight makes transportation more sustainable but also easier and less costly. 


1 Wood Group UK Limited, Socio-economic analysis of styrene-based food contact materials, commissioned by Plastics Europe, December 2021. Report available upon request