Epsilyte recognized for recycling

Epsilyte, a producer of insulative materials based in The Woodlands, Texas, received the Excellence in EPS Recycling award at the EPS Expo in Orlando, Florida, in March. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in foam recycling and enhancements in innovation and technology.

Chad Zielinski, Epsilyte research supervisor, worked to adapt the recycled EPS Epsilyte produces for use in safety helmets for bicycling and skiing. Epsilyte says its Polysource 225, which is made in the company’s Piqua, Ohio, plant, allows it to use up to 50 percent SCS Global certified recycled content because the product is black, does not require U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and has a higher density, allowing for a wider operating window.

Because helmets protect the wearer in the event of an accident, Epsilyte says it knows quality cannot be compromised when including recycled content in the EPS used for helmet padding. Zielinski engineered a solution that includes 50 percent recycled content in these applications without sacrificing quality, the company says.

Epsilyte says it recognizes that postconsumer recycled EPS is variable. Therefore, its system accounts for that variability and offsets and normalizes its performance by running the virgin material through a propriety molecular weight engineering tool.

Many customers have tested and qualified Epsilyte’s Polysource 225 material in various helmet models, according to the company. The commercialization of Polysource 225 with recycled content was critical in Epsilyte’s ability to recycle more than 1 million pounds of EPS in 2022.