More and more polystyrene concrete are being used in construction as a
permanent means to provide structural stability and insulation. Mixing
this special concrete follows almost exactly the same mixing procedures as the
traditional concrete. The only difference is using lightweight
Styrofoam balls instead of cracked stones in mixing concrete. The injection of
a different material brings benefits as the following:
Easy to plaster, glue and paint: it eliminates the need for an
extra layer fothese purposes.
Easy to cut:
Polystyrene concrete is softer and lighter than traditional concrete.
Low water
absorption: Due to the hydrophobic property of polystyrene materials, it will
keeps the majority of water from intruding inner structure of the
building.
High impact
resistance: The low density styrofoam is better at cushioning and absorbing
outside force than stones in traditional concrete, thus protects the structure
from external impact.
High viscosity
and strength: Though being made of a lighter weight material, the elastic
polystyrene concrete is still able to withstand tremendous tensile stress than
traditional stone concrete.
Fire-resistant
and low thermal conductivity: Poor thermal conductivity nature of the concrete
makes sure the interior temperature does not easily gets affected by outside
weather fluctuations. 
Don’t forget,
styrofoam is a material that takes forever to decompose in
nature. The introduction of this new concrete remove the environmentally
harmful material out of landfills. And the concrete is so light that it’s
buoyant in water， though not particularly useful in industrial use.
The
polystyrene featured in this article is manufactured by the Siberian
Construction Technology.
Credit to Joe Kurz for pointing out an editorial error in the article where it said “Styrofoam is a non-recyclable material”. Styrofoam is a recyclable material.