Polystyrene and EPS: Emissions

Styrene brings 93% of the footprint

What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies. Emission intensity 3.00 t CO2e per t range about 2.7-3.5 (indicative) · styrene about 2.8 t CO2e per t (styrene tile) plus polymerisation and transport Global emissions per year 45.0 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · about 3.0 t x about 15 Mt (indicative)

Per t of GPPS, HIPS or EPS, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: derived from styrene tile; cross-check: ACC 2020 North American LCA gives 2.67 t CO2 (CO2 only) per t GPPS and 2.64 t per t HIPS, with CO2 over 81% of GWP. Global total: derived (indicative).

Share of footprint by lifecycle phase

Feedstock 93% Production / process 5% Movement 2%

Footprint by lifecycle phase

Phase	Intensity	Share	Main sources of emissions	Notes	Source
Feedstock	about 2.8 t CO2e per t (styrene)	93%	Benzene and ethylene production; steam for ethylbenzene dehydrogenation	Styrene is the most carbon-intensive commodity monomer after VCM on the carbide route	styrene tile (indicative)
Production / process	about 0.15 t CO2e per t	5%	Power and heat for polymerisation and devolatilisation	EPS conversion at moulders adds steam for expansion (outside this boundary)	indicative
Movement	about 0.05 t CO2e per t	2%	Container shipping of pellets and beads	Foam products are moulded locally	indicative
Use	not applicable for packaging; EPS insulation avoids heating and cooling emissions over decades	–	Pentane escapes during expansion and moulding (a VOC, ozone precursor)	Insulation saves many times its embodied CO2 over its life (indicative)	indicative
End of life	about 3.4 t CO2 per t if incinerated	–	Bulky foam, food contamination, low value per truckload	PS recycling rates are among the lowest of the commodity plastics; densified EPS and depolymerisation to styrene are the main recycling routes. Globally only about 9% of plastic waste was recycled in 2019; about 19% was incinerated, about 50% landfilled and 22% mismanaged (indicative, OECD Global Plastics Outlook 2022).	stoichiometric; OECD 2022 (indicative)

Other environmental impacts

Foam litter breaks into small pieces and is a common beach and river pollutant; styrene monomer exposure risks at plants; brominated flame retardants in old insulation (HBCD) need controlled disposal.

Levers to cut emissions

Substitute PS foodware with PP, PET or moulded fibre, as single-use bans in the EU and India already require for some items.
Decarbonise styrene (about 93% of the footprint): low-carbon steam for dehydrogenation and lower-carbon benzene and ethylene (styrene tile).
Collect and densify EPS packaging and fish boxes for mechanical recycling.
Depolymerise PS back to styrene, which PS does more cleanly than other commodity plastics (indicative).
Keep EPS where it saves energy: insulation and cold chain, using graphite EPS to cut material per unit of insulation.

India

India's PS footprint is mostly embedded in imported styrene from the Gulf and Asia (styrene tile). The 2022 single-use ban removed PS cutlery, plates, cups and thermocol decoration from the market, and EPR rules cover PS packaging as rigid plastic (Category I).

Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

Low-carbon routes

Route	Intensity	Cost premium	Status	Source
PS depolymerisation to styrene monomer	lower than virgin styrene; not published	not published	pilot and early commercial projects in Europe and North America; several delayed (indicative)	indicative
Mechanically recycled PS and EPS	about 0.4-0.6 t CO2e per t (indicative, basis: mechanical recycling LCAs)	usually below virgin for non-food (indicative)	established for clean EPS packaging and some HIPS from appliances	RSC Green Chem 2024; indicative
Substitution by moulded fibre or PP	varies by product	moulded fibre foodware typically costs more than foam (indicative)	driven by bans in the EU and India	indicative

For a climate investor PS is a shrinking packaging polymer, so the climate opportunity is substitution and recovery rather than new capacity: moulded-fibre and bagasse foodware replacing banned foam, densification and recycling of EPS packaging, and EPS insulation in buildings and cold chains where it saves energy. What has to be true for recycling is cheap collection of very light foam. Supreme Petrochem is the domestic incumbent to watch for recycled-content PS and EPS.