How Styrofoam Recycling Works
We've been thinking about (and dreaming about, and tripping over) styrofoam this month during our January styrofoam collection, so we were happy to drop off a very full vanload in Kansas City this week! Working around so much styrofoam got us thinking: how exactly does styrofoam recycling work? And if it can be recycled, why doesn't the county accept it?
Turns out, styrofoam is a tricky material. One problem: it's mostly air, so it tends to blow out of recycling trucks, and it takes a LOT of styrofoam to harvest much reusable material. Since it's porous, it's easily contaminated by food. Since it breaks apart easily, the little pieces stick to other materials in the recycling bin, contaminating those waste streams. And it requires specialized machinery that most recycling facilities don't have. The energy used to transport and process all that material can sometimes outweigh the environmental benefit. And, like all plastics, it can only be recycled a few times before it becomes unusable. So avoiding styrofoam is really better than recycling it.
That being said, if you do acquire styrofoam (the big, puffy kind), taking it to Atlas Molded Products in Kansas City is a good option. They have the equipment to process it—grinding it up, removing the extra air with a densifier, and turning it into pellets that can be used to make new packaging, surfboards, construction materials, and more. Interestingly, picture frames are one of the most common uses for recycled styrofoam. Check out the video below for a neat look into the process!
As for styrofoam takeout containers, Sonic cups, etc., JUST SAY NO! If there are places where you can't get a product you like any other way, contact the business to tell them the Earth needs them to change!
-Justine
