EPS Packaging Waste Volume Study
Budget: $250 – $750 USD
In follow-up to the work you did for us in May 2025, we are interested in taking preliminary steps to address the perceived gaps in our recycling rate reporting methodology. We believe these steps will allow us to bridge a gap between readily available data and a lack of confidence in industry sourced reports. We also think these steps may help identify a more nuanced understanding of current recycling data availability.
We would like for 8 Veer to submit a cost proposal for each the following, please provide a cost breakdown for each of the three work centers along with a total project cost.
1) Determine the population access to expanded polystyrene transport packaging recycling opportunities primarily through ~680 drop off locations and curbside collection programs in the U.S. and Canada. Each country needs its own data set to demonstrate regulatory compliance for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws in each state or province with EPR laws that require minimum recycling rates within a pre-determined time.
2) Using U.S. government agency reports, establish statistical modeling that predicts the typical percentage of EPS packaging in the waste stream, potentially to differentiate between residential and commercial industrial sources. EPS-IA has identified 55-65 state and city reports that include expanded polystyrene data points, but additional research may be needed. Another factor is to determine how this material category is being reported and whether it includes other “EPS” waste, such as extruded polystyrene (XPS) food service materials. This may necessitate acquisition of polystyrene production and economic forecasting data and/or a survey of polystyrene foam industry manufacturers that can provide relative insight.
We would also like this to include an assessment of the U.S. waste characterization reporting methodologies that set a precedent to rely on modeling scenarios for EPR rulemaking. We think this will instill more confidence in any statistical modeling used by the EPS industry.
3) Evaluate North America EPS end markets that estimates what percentage of the total annual production is for packaging versus non-packaging applications. This will help refine the use of annual resin production data as the most used recycling rate denominator. This will also allow us to provide some historical continuity that reflects growth trends.
Thank you!
We would like for 8 Veer to submit a cost proposal for each the following, please provide a cost breakdown for each of the three work centers along with a total project cost.
1) Determine the population access to expanded polystyrene transport packaging recycling opportunities primarily through ~680 drop off locations and curbside collection programs in the U.S. and Canada. Each country needs its own data set to demonstrate regulatory compliance for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws in each state or province with EPR laws that require minimum recycling rates within a pre-determined time.
2) Using U.S. government agency reports, establish statistical modeling that predicts the typical percentage of EPS packaging in the waste stream, potentially to differentiate between residential and commercial industrial sources. EPS-IA has identified 55-65 state and city reports that include expanded polystyrene data points, but additional research may be needed. Another factor is to determine how this material category is being reported and whether it includes other “EPS” waste, such as extruded polystyrene (XPS) food service materials. This may necessitate acquisition of polystyrene production and economic forecasting data and/or a survey of polystyrene foam industry manufacturers that can provide relative insight.
We would also like this to include an assessment of the U.S. waste characterization reporting methodologies that set a precedent to rely on modeling scenarios for EPR rulemaking. We think this will instill more confidence in any statistical modeling used by the EPS industry.
3) Evaluate North America EPS end markets that estimates what percentage of the total annual production is for packaging versus non-packaging applications. This will help refine the use of annual resin production data as the most used recycling rate denominator. This will also allow us to provide some historical continuity that reflects growth trends.
Thank you!