Chile’s Aysén region is one of the centres of the country’s salmon-farming industry. It is also becoming home to more than one route for recovering expanded polystyrene used by the sector.
One region, two recycling routes
In July 2026, Puerto Aysén-based Ceresal completed a shipment of 30 tonnes of compacted recovered EPS to buyers in Spain and Belgium. SeafoodSource, Fish Farming Expert and local Chilean reporting describe the material as coming from aquaculture-related waste streams in the region. Compaction made it possible to prepare the lightweight material for long-distance transport into European secondary-material markets.
A different route is being developed locally by Aysén Recircular. The company recovers EPS from retired aquaculture floats and buoys, separates and processes the material, and uses it as insulation cores in structural insulated panels for construction. País Circular and SeafoodSource have reported on the operating model, while CORFO and Universidad de La Frontera document the project’s development and public-support context.
From salmon farming to new material uses
The two initiatives start from closely related regional waste streams but take different paths. Ceresal concentrates and exports recovered material for further processing abroad. Aysén Recircular keeps material in the region and turns it into a new construction product.
Together, they show how recycling systems can develop around the realities of a local economy. In a remote region where aquaculture generates recurring EPS waste, one solution is to reduce volume and connect the material with larger international recycling markets. Another is to build a local outlet for recovered material.
The Aysén examples also underline the role of logistics in EPS recycling. Because EPS is lightweight and bulky, collection, separation and volume reduction can be as important as the recycling technology itself. Different routes can work side by side when they connect recovered material with a viable next use.
Sources used in this article
SeafoodSource: First shipment of upcycled EPS made from Chilean salmon-farming waste reaches European markets
Fish Farming Expert: How Chile’s waste salmon packaging became Europe’s resource
Radio Apocalipsis: Primera exportación de EPS valorizado desde Aysén llegó a mercados europeos
País Circular: Aysén Recircular transforms salmon-industry EPS into construction panels
SeafoodSource: Chilean entrepreneur transforming salmon-farming waste into insulated panels for homes
CORFO Chile: Regional support for Aysén insulation initiativeUniversidad de La Frontera: Company makes housing panels from salmon-industry plastic
