Often wondered about styrofoam (which I hate but often resort to when on business travel, for takeout). Does it have better or worse properties than the plastic mentioned here?
Styrofoam is plastic. Dow Chemical got a fancy trademark but microwaving it is just as awful. It's extruded polystyrene foam, I would avoid eating food out of it (even if it's not microwaved).
its a plastic. its just mixed with air -- foam -- to give it a better structure.
take a lighter to some, at a distance mind you, go slow, and it'll melt down into a plastic-y resin. used to do that all the time to make terrain for tabletop gaming.