EPS (expanded polystyrene, often called “Styrofoam”) is everywhere—protecting electronics, insulating buildings, and cushioning shipments. It's useful, but there’s a catch: 95% of EPS is air, which means huge piles of foam for very little material. Transporting or storing it for recycling is costly, so in many regions EPS still ends up landfilled or incinerated.
GREENMAX hot melt densifier gives the recycling solution. Instead of leaving EPS in its bulky form, the machine:
Crushes loose foam into small pieces.
Heats & melts it into a semi-liquid form.
Extrudes it into dense ingots or blocks.
The results are dramatic: EPS volume is reduced by up to 90–95%, making it far easier to store, transport, and sell as recyclable material.
The Impact of Hot Melt Densifiers
Economical transport – Smaller, denser blocks cut logistics costs.
Market value – Recycled EPS blocks can be sold to manufacturers.
Circular economy – Once processed into polystyrene pellets, EPS can be remade into new consumer goods like picture frames, mouldings, or skirting boards.
Seafood Industry in Norway
In Norway, the seafood industry faces a unique problem: millions of EPS fish boxes are used every year to keep salmon and cod fresh during transport. Traditionally, these boxes were discarded after use, creating mountains of bulky waste near ports.
By installing hot melt densifiers at major collection points, seafood processors now compress the used EPS boxes into dense ingots on-site. These ingots are then shipped efficiently to recycling facilities, where they're turned back into raw polystyrene pellets. Some of these pellets even find their way into new picture frames and construction materials produced by companies like INTCO Recycling.
