We don’t like Styrofoam. It used to be ubiquitous, found pretty much everywhere but now you barely even see Styrofoam plates anymore. And for good reason, it’s bad for the environment but, is it really so terrible?

Turns out that when you look at the total cost, it has a smaller carbon footprint than other single use package items but it fell out of favor being hard to recycle and basically ending up in landfills where it could reenter the food chain and kill animals.

That being said, it can be recycled with the right equipment and it actually has a number of beneficial uses once it’s been through that process. Still, it’s unlikely that this once common material is going to make a comeback and now it’s on us to be careful about what replaces it and as always, it’s better to reduce from the beginning. Check out the full article for some cool facts about this material.