The manufacture of styrofoam and other foamed plastic products require very little plastic. Most of the product is air, which is why it is often used for insulation. As insulation, it can be easily cut to fit. Some products can be used as structural materials in some types of construction. These products can take surface finishes, such as stucco, directly. It is also used for packaging, since it works well to protect the contents of a box from impact shock. Negatives include: - Some of the gases used during the manufacture of foamed plastic products are not that good for the environment. However, these have be replaced with less harmful materials for the most part. CFCs are no longer used in most places, for example. - Most communities do not recycle foamed plastic products. However, they can be recycled - it just takes the will and the want of the community to make it happen. As with all recycling programs, it costs more than most people are willing to invest, particularly if the recycling program uses a for-profit approach. Most recycling programs cost money and the cost of new plastics is very low. It does not take much of a change in the cost of the product to make it unattractive to buyers. There is also an advantage with using new plastics in production: you know what you are using and you can predict how it will behave during manufacture. Recycled plastics are less consistent, which is why they are often used as fillers or in applications where this inconsistentcy can be tolerated. - Foamed plastic takes up a lot of space in the trash - it cannot be easily compacted into a small volume, as can tin cans or paper. This is where recycling steps in.