This already makes three centres accredited by Anape for the recycling of EPS in Spain

Since last November, and are three points credited for the recycling of polystyrene expanded in Spain. Centres of Madrid and Barcelona joins them now the company Axa Universa of Porreres in Mallorca Island and it is expected that soon they can dispose of it cities such as Zaragoza and Valencia (and possibly any Western City in Andalusia).

AXA Universa has become the third Center ECO EPS of Balearic

AXA Universa is a company of Porreres (Mallorca) and was the first factory of expanded polystyrene (EPS) of the island, with an output of 200 tonnes per year. Its founder and owner, Sebastian Serra Nicolau, who built his own machine which uses the signature for the production of EPS, focused soon its recycling and opted for reuse so making light or insulating concretes under the brand name of Hormipan Ecológic.
The firm currently produces 2,500 m3 of this material.
AXA Universa is also from this November, the first Center of recycling of EPS officially accredited by the National Association of EPS (Anape). The event took place at the premises of the company and had the presence of those responsible for Anape, a representative of Cicloplast and local authorities, among others.
Antonio Garrí, son of the founder of the company, commented that the firm had expanded facilities (950 m2 to 3000 m2) and was expected to increase their recycling to some 300 tonnes per year. EPS recycling has become for this signature a way of ensuring the profitability of the company, now that the construction of new building has been experiencing a slight decline in the Balearic Islands, the Hormipan Ecológic is a product very used in the restoration of dwellings.
This recycling center, which joins the two Anape has already credited in Barcelona and Madrid is part of the project echo EPS, developed by Anape and Cicloplast. The latter is an organization set up for the appropriate management of waste from packaging and packaging plastic within the integrated system of management (GIS). The project is an ambitious plan to promote the collection of this product through the promotion of these recycling centers and the search for cooperation of various actors involved in the generation and collection of used EPS packaging.
The main sectors that Anape has led to request the collaboration in the task of recycling this waste are related to the consumer electronics and appliances, which are the main destinations of (also known as styrofoam) EPS packaging. In addition, the rate of recovery of these containers is high due to the possibility of collection and concentration of used packaging that can offer the Distributor. On this subject, the person responsible for packing of Anape, David Horcajada, commented during the day that the Association is carrying out in Madrid a pilot project with some hypermarkets (Carrefour and El Corte Inglés) to collect these containers. "We want to get involved in the distribution sector," he added.
In the recycling center of Barcelona (Reciclats Brafim) who has been involved in the project are the administrations through the "deixalleries" or waste collection points. Participate in Mallorca at the moment eight "deixelleries" and four interim construction waste selection plants.
The importance of reaching agreements with industries distribution or collection points is obvious: the EPS is less dense and takes up so much space that his collection in yellow containers is not viable. For this reason, one of the tasks that are to be commissioning these recycling centers is the transport of such waste.

The rate of recovery of EPS in Europe is 37 percent. This includes a 27 percent recycling rate to 10 percent of energy recovery, according to data provided by Eumeps Packaging, the European Association which brings together most of the EPS industry. The most common model in Europe for such waste management is the crushing and subsequent production of new articles of EPS (50 percent), energy recovery (28 percent), the extrusion of pellets (15 percent), the regasified (5 percent) and the recycled chemical (2 percent).
For Anape, the level of Spain is not particularly high, "we believe that energy recovery is a very appropriate way," explained.
Spain tend to opt for the crushing of these residues, but Reciclats Brafim, explained a representative of Anape, is dedicated to the production of compact polystyrene from EPS.

On the other hand, are thirty countries that have signed the international agreement to promote the use of recycled EPS and working on the development of international models of management of waste expanded polystyrene. The last country that has joined this initiative has been Argentina, who signed the agreement in November.