How much does it cost to make one Styrofoam cup?

How much does it cost to make one Styrofoam cup?

Our model estimates the total hidden costs of Styrofoam (for the current production output of 3 million tons) at $7 billion annually. This represents an estimated hidden cost equivalent to 1.2 cents per Styrofoam cup produced.

How much do polystyrene cups hold?

Styrofoam Cups: 8 oz. (237 ml) Styrofoam Cup.

What is a Styrofoam cup made of?

Styrofoam is made out of styrene which is a petroleum-based product. How is styrofoam made? Through polymerization, styrene is refined into polystyrene and then a hydrofluorocarbon agent is added. This combination is then extruded and allowed to expand under pressure until it forms a foam board.

How much Styrofoam is used in packaging?

Californians use 165,000 tons of polystyrene each year for packaging and food service purposes alone; only 0.2% of polystyrene food packaging is recycled. Littered polystyrene food packaging clogs our storm drains and pollutes our beaches, causing Californians to pay millions of dollars in clean-up costs.

Why is polystyrene so cheap?

Styrofoam is ridiculously cheap, much less expensive than alternative to-go cups and containers. Its commercial cost is due to its lightweight composition – Styrofoam is mostly made out tiny pellets of #6 plastic* and air, which makes it very light and easy to ship.

Is Styrofoam or plastic cheaper?

Cost. If price is your main concern, plastic is the less costly option. It is lighter, which makes manufacturing and shipping less expensive. Styrofoam is a little more expensive to purchase, but it does double as a hot and cold drink cup, so it may be more cost-effective in the end, depending on your intended use.

Are polystyrene cups biodegradable?

A polystyrene container or cup easily breaks up into smaller pieces, which can then make their way into the environment and our oceans as litter. They can take over 50 years to decompose and, in the meantime, the small pieces of plastic can be eaten by marine animals.

Why are Styrofoam cups bad?

Toxic Pollutants From Styrofoam Styrofoam contains Styrene with leaches into foods and drinks served in Styrofoam containers causing contamination. When the same container is exposed to sunlight, it creates harmful air pollutants that contaminate landfills and deplete the ozone layer.

Is Styrofoam cancerous?

In the case of polystyrene, tiny amounts of styrene may remain following manufacture and it’s this substance that may migrate. In 2014, the National Research Council in the US reviewed the evidence and concluded that styrene is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen”.

Will Styrofoam be banned?

New legislative measures banning the styrofoam products commonly used in restaurants are taking effect in cities, counties, and states across the country; restaurants found in violation of a styrofoam ban face up to $1,000 in fines for failure to comply.

What country banned Styrofoam?

Costa Rica Has Banned Styrofoam, A Major Win for the Environment.

When was styrofoam first used in coffee cups?

Polystyrene was discovered way back in 1839, was manufactured starting in the 1930s, then was first foamed in the 1940s, and first sold as coffee cups in the 1960s. The term polystyrene refers to a polymer (long chain molecule) of the monomer (smaller molecule) styrene. Various gases have been used to blow it up into foam form.

How many tons of styrofoam are produced each year?

Polystyrene foam products, commonly referred to as Styrofoam, are widely used as single-use consumer goods. Three million tons of polystyrene are produced in the United States each year, predominantly used to make packaging materials and food service items such as foam cups, cartons, and other containers.

What’s the difference between styrofoam and polystyrene foam?

But the word styrofoam is widely used in conversation and media when referring to expanded polystyrene foam — which you may use in that disposable cup or as “peanuts” to pack fragile things for shipping. Technical and legal sticklers may prefer the term expanded polystyrene, or EPS.

Is the real cost of styrofoam the sticker price?

The GDA has long-suspected that the true cost of polystyrene (better known as Styrofoam) has a societal cost that is not reflected in its ultra-cheap sticker price. Styrofoam is ridiculously cheap, much less expensive than alternative to-go cups and containers.