PSRA Partners with Brave Industries for Polystyrene Recycling

Hill noted that Brave Industries aims to serve as a connecting link between collection and processing operations.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA) has forged a strategic partnership with Brave Industries to significantly expand polystyrene recycling capabilities across North America, marking a pivotal advancement in the material's circular economy transition.

The collaboration between PSRA — a coalition dedicated to advancing scalable polystyrene recycling solutions — and Brave Industries, a national consortium of independent recyclers operating throughout the United States, will focus on collecting and processing all polystyrene formats. According to the partners, this includes rigid non-foam applications such as high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general-purpose polystyrene (GPPS), as well as foam formats including expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS).

Strategic launch in Denver and Baltimore

The initiative will debut in Denver, CO, and Baltimore, MD — two regions leading extended producer responsibility (EPR) implementation efforts. EPR programs require producers to take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products, including end-of-life management. PSRA will provide grant funding for collection infrastructure, enabling Brave Industries to expand its reach and processing capacity for diverse polystyrene materials.

With Brave's established network of plastics processing facilities spanning eight states across the United States, both organizations anticipate scaling the partnership nationally. The collaboration aims to deliver recycled polystyrene resins to responsible end markets for manufacturing new products, supporting sustainable packaging solutions and plastic waste management goals.

'As we continue evolving toward a robust circular economy, it's essential that all types of polystyrene can be collected and transformed into new products at responsible end markets,' said Richard Shaw, chairman of the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance. 'This partnership with Brave Industries is a big step in that direction. Our ultimate goal is to make polystyrene widely recyclable, and we embrace every viable collection channel and recycling technology to accomplish that vision.'

Coordinating existing infrastructure

Adam Hill, co-founder of Brave Industries, emphasized the partnership's innovative approach to leveraging existing recycling infrastructure.

'We're excited to partner with the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance to advance a forward-thinking, innovative approach to recycling all forms of polystyrene,' Hill said.

'The model we've developed with PSRA demonstrates that scalable solutions already exist — ones that allow us to recycle more types of polystyrene and deliver recycled resins to responsible end markets across the states where we operate,' he continued. 'This partnership marks the beginning of a broader vision for Brave Industries: to become one of the nation's leading recyclers of polystyrene through coordinating underutilized recycling infrastructure that already exists.'

Hill noted that Brave Industries aims to serve as a connecting link between collection and processing operations.

'We really just want to be the link that helps both sides succeed in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible — that's what fixes these systems, and it's best achieved by building these programs together,' he concluded.

Industry collaboration model

The PSRA-Brave Industries partnership exemplifies how industry collaboration and market-based innovation can accelerate polystyrene's transformation from a challenging waste stream to a proven circular resource. The organizations state this approach addresses growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions while supporting North America's broader plastics recycling infrastructure development.

 Courtesy: www.plasticstoday.com