Expanded PolyStyrene, EPS, aka styrofoam. I have a pile of it. The stuff gradually accumulates from the packaging of things I buy. It’s so persistent in the environment that I don’t want to throw it away; so it piles up.
In some places styrofoam can be sold. However, household quantities aren’t usually enough to sell. Sometimes it can be re-used for packaging, but it’s often just thrown away. Estimates are that 30% of the volume in landfills is styrofoam.
But – instead of tossing styrofoam, some people use it for art! Brilliantly!
One way to make use of styrofoam is as a base for mosaics. This keeps it out of the environment for the long-term, and is a lightweight, stable, inexpensive, versatile & readily available material.
Pre-formed EPS is available in shapes that are rigid enough to provide a good mosaic base.
People who aren’t put off by the texture or sound of styrofoam (it’s a real thing – a condition called ‘styrophobia’!) can cut and glue it into fanciful shapes before applying mosaic finishes. The work of Zsófia Keresztes is a great example.
We’re exploring some other surprising uses for this material in various projects; reports will be forthcoming in future posts. In the meantime, make friends with that stash of styrofoam; turn it into a thing of beauty!
I have done a few years of researching end use small scale styrofoam reuse, i woudn up publishing this instructables log on how to goopify it and use it in new ways. https://www.instructables.com/Recycling-Styrofoam-EPS-Into-Castable-Styrene-Plas/