EPSON: honeycomb cardboard VS polystyrene

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EPSON: honeycomb cardboard VS polystyrene




by Christophe » 05/07/15, 18:28

While getting rid of old cardboard boxes, I came across an "old" box of an EPSON projector which contained honeycomb packing boxes instead of the "classic" polystyrene (frigolite for Belgians) ...

The box already dates from 2010, yet the practice is still far from universal: there is still much more polystyrene than "smart" cardboard boxes like this one ... and that's a shame!

Certainly a story of cost (and that's too bad for the environment ...)

Some pictures:

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ps: if someone has bought EPSON equipment recently, are these boxes still in use?
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by Leo Maximus » 05/07/15, 19:51

It's not about cost.

Expanded polystyrene has been banned in Japan for decades for packaging. For 30/35 years I think. It is not recyclable.

Recyclable plastic or paper is used.
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by Christophe » 05/07/15, 19:58

Ah well that!

Polystyrene not recyclable no but reusable yes ...
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by Ahmed » 05/07/15, 20:46

Expanded polystyrene can obviously be reused as is, but, when dissolved in a solvent, it provides a good colorless (a little yellow, however) varnish which is suitable for protecting wood outdoors. It's a bit "rustic", but suitable for basic uses and needless to say that the price is unbeatable!

It is advisable to apply a first, fairly fluid bonding layer, then we can then increase the concentration of material ...
Take respiratory precautions depending on the dangerousness of the chosen solvent.
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by Christophe » 05/07/15, 21:51

Interesting Ahmed what solvent can we use?
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by Macro » 06/07/15, 07:39

With petrol ... you make napalm ...
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by Ahmed » 06/07/15, 07:43

I think I used a residue of trichlorethylene; this product is no longer available in drugstores, but the usual solvents for painting are well suited.
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by chatelot16 » 06/07/15, 08:49

this way of classifying recyclable or non-recyclable product, is considered a good recyclable product, even if recycling is more expensive than useful I don't like it

for me what matters is the value of the packaging that can be recovered

cardboard has value only in the form of a box that can be used again ... bizarre forms for wedging never reserve

with me polystyrene in any form is always used: in any form! just grind it a bit to make cushions or beanbags!

small loose pieces can be used to call fragile objects

polystyrene is durable: we can stall objects that must last a long time: for example glass candy ... the setting with more natural material is bad if it rots ... not to speak of products based on popcorn for setting that feeds the mice!

other use: loose insulation: I made an insulation under a methanization tank, with a good layer of polystyrene passed through a vegetable crusher

the polystyrene is durable: I store all the packaging that I can recover, and take in the heap when it is needed

for insulation I also use a mixture of pouzolane and ground polystyrene: the pouzolane increases the suportable load without crushing, and the polystyrene fills the voids between the pieces of pouzolane which increases the quality of insulation

another way to compare materials: how much does it cost new ... new polystyrene for packaging often costs less than cardboard parts: so there is nothing against polystyrene
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by Ahmed » 06/07/15, 13:38

Recycling only recovers a residual fraction of the initial product and this low recovery can only be done due to the incorporation of the free work provided by the consumer.
On the other hand, direct reuse offers the advantage of transparency, of a qualitative valuation (and not simply quantitative) and of benefiting the users on two levels: free of the recovered elements and valuation of personal expertise.

Nagging question: is there the possibility of a sorting which is not selective?Image
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by Christophe » 06/07/15, 15:12

Ahmed wrote:I think I used a residue of trichlorethylene; this product is no longer available in drugstores, but the usual solvents for painting are well suited.


Ok so white spirit or acetone? For what minimum dosage for the stain to be effective?

Dosage say in volume of polystyrene / volume of solvent?
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