Success Stories

For Immediate Release

Contact: Camille Gallo cgallo@plasticsindustry.org

November 18, 2025 

The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance Announces Groundbreaking Partnership with Brave Industries

Collaboration Will Expand Polystyrene Collection in Denver, Colorado and Baltimore, Maryland

Washington, D.C. – The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA), a North American coalition advancing scalable solutions to recycle polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS), today announced a new partnership with Brave Industries (Brave), a national consortium of independent recyclers with operations across the United States.

This partnership aims to expand the collection and recycling of all types of polystyrene, including rigid non-foam applications (HIPS/GPPS) and foam formats (EPS/XPS) for processing and delivery to responsible end markets for use in new products.

The initiative will launch in Denver, Colorado, and Baltimore, Maryland—two key regions at the forefront of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) implementation. PSRA will support the project with grants for collection infrastructure that allow Brave to expand their reach and capacity for collecting and recycling all types of polystyrene. With Brave’s national infrastructure of plastics processing facilities in eight states, both organizations expect this partnership to eventually scale nationally.

“As we continue evolving toward a robust circular economy, it’s essential that all types of polystyrene can be collected and transformed into new products at responsible end markets, said Richard Shaw, Chair of the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance. “This partnership with Brave Industries is a big step in that direction. Our ultimate goal is to make polystyrene widely recyclable, and we embrace every viable collection channel and recycling technology to accomplish that vision.”

“We’re excited to partner with the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance to advance a forward-thinking, innovative approach to recycling all forms of polystyrene,” said Adam Hill, Co-Founder of Brave Industries. “The model we’ve developed with PSRA demonstrates that scalable solutions already exist—ones that allow us to recycle more types of polystyrene and deliver recycled resins to responsible end markets across the states where we operate.

This partnership marks the beginning of a broader vision for Brave Industries: to become one of the nation’s leading recyclers of polystyrene through coordinating underutilized recycling infrastructure that already exists. We really just want to be the link that helps both sides succeed in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible, that’s what fixes these systems and it’s best achieved building these programs together.”

Together, PSRA and Brave Industries are demonstrating how industry collaboration and market-based innovation can accelerate polystyrene’s transition from a misunderstood material to a proven, circular resource—helping shape a more sustainable future for plastics recycling in North America.

About the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance

The Polystyrene Recycling Alliance (PSRA) unites the entire polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) value chain to promote circularity for polystyrene products across North America. PSRA is a self-funded initiative of the PLASTICS Industry Association. Learn more at www.PSRecycling.org.

About Brave Industries

Through its network, Brave Industries empowers and centrally coordinates lean, small and mid-sized recycling businesses throughout the US to build systems that promote a truly circular economy. Our company designs and implements sustainable, cost-effective recycling programs that don’t just check boxes, but rather create measurable results and lasting value. Guided by mathematical logic, integrity, and collaboration, our company solves problems at their root, aligning purpose with performance to help companies achieve real progress toward their sustainability goals. The mission is to strengthen America’s recyclers by optimizing existing infrastructure, cutting unnecessary costs, and bridging industry expertise to the innovators determined to do things differently, do them right, and at scale. Built with purpose and designed for results – We are Brave, because We Build Together. Learn more at www.brvind.com