Burning of polystyrene has been addressed as a way to get rid of it. I took a plastics course years and years ago and one of the many ways to id plastics is how they burn. From the internet- a site that does not like PS- Quote- When polystyrene was burned at temperatures of 800-900 Celsius (the typical range of a modern incinerator), the products of combustion consisted of "a complex mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from alkyl benzenes to benzo[ghi]perylene. Over 90 different compounds were identified in combustion effluents from polystyrene."[1] <http://www.ejnet.org/plastics/polystyrene/disposal.html#1c> With the addition of chlorine donors as simple as table salt, it is inevitable that combustion of polystyrene in municipal solid waste incinerators will contribute to the formation of highly chlorinated polycyclic compounds like dioxins <http://www.ejnet.org/dioxin/>, furans, hexachlorobenzene, and chlorophenols. It is this family of compounds that are some of the most biologically active toxins known to humans.[2] <http://www.ejnet.org/plastics/polystyrene/disposal.html#2c> Another problem with incineration is that much of the foam will have been tinted, and some types of ink release the heavy metals cadmium and lead, both of which are toxic. Unquote The industry says it is OK. But they do recognize the impact on landfills and are more toward recycling or incineration, since landfills cover the plastics and prevent decomposition (which is why you paint the hive body). Truth is, there is not that much PS involved in hive bodies world wide. Their combined impact on the environment is almost unmeasurable compared to one days output from fast food outlets in New York City. It would be better to try and recycle PS hive bodies rather than use either a landfill or incineration. Bill Truesdell Bath, Maine