FPCO has been collecting and recycling foamed polystyrene trays since 1990.
With consumers, supermarkets and other retailers, packing materials wholesalers and FPCO working together, the FPCO Method recycling has taken root as a recycling system in which everyone participates.
As of March 2019, collection boxes for foamed polystyrene trays can be found at approximately 9,200 sites all over the country.
Collected foamed polystyrene trays and containers are conveyed to sorting centers in separate regions.
After the removal of used trays that cannot be recycled, the remaining trays are sorted into white ones and colored ones. For foamed polystyrene trays, the sorting process unavoidably involves manual work and requires the longest time and the greatest workload.
After fine foreign particles are removed by blowing air, foamed polystyrene trays are crushed.
The crushed materials are washed with water. * The water used in this process is purified and reused.
The materials are cleaned with hot water and detergent. * After the removal of fine suspended matter, the cleaning water used in this process is reheated and reused as cleaning water.
The materials are rinsed with water and spin-dried.
The materials are crushed into finer chips.
The dried chips are melted and processed into pellets. * The cooling water is circulated.
After passing a quality test, the pellets are ready to serve as the material for Eco Trays™.
The sheeting process makes the pellets into Eco Trays™. Each Eco Tray is printed with the Eco Mark.