The first large occurrence expanded polystyrene beehives were developed by beekeepers in mainland Europe about 30 years back, since that time their use has spread and they now represent a significant portion of the hives obsessed about the continent.
Their use and acceptance in the UK has been restricted primarily due the fact that till really lately they certainly were maybe not available in British National sizes. As a result of high cost of the original tooling,
number businesses were ready to make to the price of full-scale production. Several companies tried unsuccessfully to produce polystyrene hives from page material, but we were holding too smooth,
the bees chewed them and they seldom lasted greater than a several seasons. Polystyrene hives must be produced from 100 grammes per litre polystyrene, which is just about 10 to 20 situations the weight and density of appearance and insulation.
The large thickness of the product, combined with larger surfaces makes these hives equivalent in fat to a wooden hive, very secure and number more likely when compared to a wooden hive to hit around in large winds.
With the introduction of British National design beehives, it's easier and cheaper for the beekeeper to modify to or add polystyrene hives for their existing colonies inside their apiaries.
Since they are made on a production point they are much cheaper when compared to a high quality wooden hive. Unlike a wooden hive they're also totally waterproof, shedding rain on the outside and condensation internally supporting to keep the bees considerably drier.
Wooden hives can saturate from the surface in heavy water, digest condensation into the walls or draw up water from the floor promoting a damp internal environment, that is harmful to the bees, this does not occur with a polystyrene beehive.
To provide equivalent power, polystyrene hives have considerably thicker walls than their wooden beehive equivalents (over 60mm or 2½") with a thick protected ceiling and serious ground that keeps the hives warmer in winter and colder in summertime,
indicating the bees have to expend less power sustaining the proper temperature within the hive. This makes large thickness polystyrene hives ideally suited to beekeeping in the wet, wet and variable conditions of the maritime English climate.
Polystyrene hives are easy to completely clean and sterilise by the beekeeper, they may be soaked and scrubbed with a solution of cleaning soda or salt hydroxide to get rid of propolis and polish, then sterilised with family bleach.
Unlike wooden hives they are inert and non-porous that isn't absorbed to the product because it will be with a wooden hive and may be washed down completely leaving the hive clean, sterile and prepared for the beekeeper to go back bees to it.
Environmentally polystyrene is just a sustainable https://www.ebeehq.com/getting-started-beekeeping/how-does-a-beehive-work/ , it's 100% recyclable, using less sources than recycling paper. In the UK more extended polystyrene (EPS) is recycled than glass or aluminium and in 2009 33% of all EPS made was recycled much in surplus of the government's 25.5% target for several plastics.
The main issue is access to recycling facilities as councils do not typically acquire it. However, Guernsey has only put up a very successful system to gather spend EPS from houses and companies, preferably mainland councils begins related schemes shortly.
In the interim you will find recycling points through the entire state where EPS can be used for recycling. Alternatively EPS can be burnt in a power from waste seed that many are increasingly being integrated the UK. It burns up precisely providing only CO2, water and a trace of ash and has a larger calorific value than coal over all making the plant more efficient.