Foam (polystyrene or styrofoam)

Polystyrene breaks up, can escape easily and become litter, ultimately ending up in our waterways and becoming a hazard for marine life.

Before you throw it out

Keep intact. Remove tape and labels where possible.

How/where to dispose of it

Polystyrene can be recycled for free at all Council's recycling and waste depots.

The type of polystyrene we accept are the clean white rigid sheets or boxes often found in electronic goods packaging. 

 white clean polystyrene box with lidclean white polystyrene carton

We cannot accept

  • pellets or bean bag balls
  • translucent sheets that can be folded or scrunched
  • soiled polystyrene
  • any other foam types

These are to be disposed of into your red lid bin.

Will it cost anything to get rid of?

No.

What happens to it after we receive it?

  • Polystyrene is sent to our facility at West Nowra where it is shredded, heated and melted to be re-processed into pellets and new plastic products. 

See our polystyrene recycling machine in action.

  • The contents of the red lid bin go straight to landfill.

Related Information

Last updated on 23 May 2025

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