Hate those elusive white packing peanuts? Those sheets of white, crackly, messy, mysterious plastic that everything comes in—but you can’t recycle? Rant no more—the answer is just a ferry away.

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is the foamy lightweight white packaging material used to protect many items we purchase.

It’s not a new product. Invented in 1839, it was commercially manufactured in 1930. Ray McIntire of Dow Chemicals developed Styrofoam, (the trademarked brand name), one form of foamed polystyrene, in 1954. Like Kleenex and Raid, Styrofoam has entered our vocabulary.

Expanded polystyrene is lightweight, buoyant, and easily shaped and moulded, with a low-thermal conductivity. It has proven to be a more uniform protective packaging than cardboard. In the global marketplace, it has increased sanitation and hygiene in packaged materials. It has opened up world trade, allowing fruit from China or South America to appear fresh and unblemished on grocery shelves anywhere. It allows fragile goods to be transported thousands of miles and survive rigorous handling. Styrofoam delivers electronic equipment and medical supplies to every corner of the world. It has kept damaged goods out of landfills and treasured items safe. It acts as armor to insure goods’ perfection. We have been rapidly expanding our demand for products and services shipped in this protective armor. Read more »