If the figures of a semi-official study are any indication, it would seem that the consumption of polystyrene is a barometer of development as the material has found widespread application in the construction boom in the UAE as an insulating material as also registering ubiquitous presence as a material for packaging and disposable crockery. Polystyrene imports by the UAE have understandably more than doubled over the past eight years with an average annual growth of around 5.5 per cent. However, it is the domestic manufacturing of polystyrene and not just the imports that satiates the demand for more and more polystyrene. In fact, domestic production of XPS products in the UAE that started in 2003 has resulted in imports coming to a virtual halt, and almost the entire demand is being met by domestic manufacturing.
The fact that the material remains non-biodegradable is perhaps one factor that could constrain the growth in demand, but not by much, as collection of the material for the purpose of recycling should not be problem. Globally the dominant presence of polystyrene as a construction material cannot be overemphasized, said the study by the government supported Emirates Industrial Bank. EIB opines that installing thermal insulation systems in buildings could reduce the power requirements of a building by as much as 40%. According to EIB, the polystyrene products have two categories: Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS).
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