The rounded corners are the tell. Fresh EPS breaks with sharp edges. This fragment has no sharp edges left. Wave action and UV exposure have been working on it long enough to smooth every corner down. That takes years. Probably more than a decade. South Korea banned new EPS aquaculture buoys in November 2022. Studies from 2024 still show EPS fragments making up more than 20% of coastal debris there. The ban stopped future production. It couldn't touch the material already in the water. The foam we're collecting now was put there before the regulation existed. It's going to keep arriving. What's washing up near you? #coastalcleanup #EPSfoam #marinedebris #tideline #waterwaycleanup