Communities across the world are debating if they should consider banning polystyrene foam or if they should recycle it. Banning polystyrene forces businesses into switching to costlier alternatives and still leads to waste from foam packaging in shipping. Foam recycling is becoming an increasingly viable decision for communities to consider. With increasing demand for recycled polystyrene in manufacture processes around the world, there is a viable market for the recycled materials.
Two communities that made the choice to recycle their foam have had a significant amount of success over the last year in their efforts.
The City of Yonkers launched a foam-recycling program in late 2014 and has already seen a huge amount of foam being recycled. Between November 15th and December 31st, the city saw over 1 ton of polystyrene recycled. The foam is collected and then sent to a recycling facility in Pennsylvania where it is turned into feedstock for products like building materials, picture frames and more.
Meanwhile, just a few hundred miles south in Baltimore, the Department of Public Works is collecting more foam than ever before. Started in 2012, the drop off facility in the northern part of the city collected 900 more pounds than the previous year. This 11 percent increase is part of a 5 percent increase overall on recycling efforts within the city.
Both Baltimore and Yonkers choose to utilize drop off facilities for their foam recycling. These locations allow citizens from around the community to come and drop their foam products off to be sent to recycling facilities later. There are also communities that accept foam in their curbside pickup, something that is becoming increasingly more common.
If your community is interested in joining with Baltimore, Yonkers and the hundreds of other communities across the United States that are recycling foam, Home For Foam can help. Learn more about how you can recycle foam within your community and the best ways to get started.
Garcia, Ernie. " Yonkers Styrofoam recycling collects 1 ton" The Journal News. 26 December, 2015. Web. 26 January, 2015.