Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
University of California
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Master Gardeners recycle Styrofoam

Piles of Styrofoam computer packing donated by county offices.
Styrofoam — referring generically to #6 expanded polystyrene foam — is a disposal headache. Extremely bulky, yet lightweight, it takes up space in the waste stream (and in landfills), but its removal doesn’t add much value to what is known as “diversion numbers.”   

In 1989, California Assembly Bill 939, known as the Integrated Waste Management Act, mandated reduction (or diversion) in waste disposal: jurisdictions were required to meet a 50 percent diversion goal by the year 2000. In 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 341, requiring a 75 percent reduction in disposable waste by 2020.

These goals are based on weight. So, for example, “green wastes” (lawn and garden clippings with a high water content) are targeted for removal from the waste collection system. Styrofoam is ignored because its removal doesn’t add much to diversion goals.   

Many holiday gifts, such as electronics and wine, come packed in #6 Styrofoam. That’s why UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners in Tuolumne County host semi-annual Styrofoam awareness events to collect foam from the public. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 12 and 13, Master Gardeners will unload vehicles and collect Styrofoam from holiday gifts. Once collected, the foam will be compacted, baled and transported for recycling. 

Started in honor of Earth Day 2007, the Master Gardener Save Our Styrofoam (SOS) project has received collaborative support from local waste haulers and county government agencies. Waste Management Inc. (WMI) donates 20-foot roll-off bins to hold the collected Styrofoam. WMI then compacts and bales the foam. Tuolumne County’s Solid Waste Division arranges with the county’s e-waste hauler to pick up and deliver the Styrofoam bales. A Lodi, Calif., division of Dart Container Corporation repurposes the recycled Styrofoam into food containers.

Baled Styrofoam
Styrofoam collection events have been held at the California State Fair and by various other recycling groups. Our hope is that, eventually, with California’s focus on recycling, Styrofoam will no longer be a product created from fossil fuels that is then eliminated by being buried in the earth.

Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 6:59 AM
Tags: Recycling (3), Styrofoam (1)

Comments:

1.
It has been estimated that recycling, re-use, and composting create six to ten times as many jobs as waste incineration and landfills. Only around 27% of plastic bottles are recycled.

Posted by Jennifer Brown on August 29, 2013 at 8:47 AM

2.
Are you going to pick up Styrofoam for recycling again soon?

Posted by Frances Connolly on May 29, 2016 at 4:21 PM

3.
When is the next styrofoam recycling day?

Posted by Frances M Connolly on February 4, 2018 at 7:15 PM

4.
Not only they are hard to recycle if burned they also emit pungent odor and is toxic to humans.

Posted by AHP Recycling on October 4, 2021 at 7:16 PM

Leave a Reply

You are currently not signed in. If you have an account, then sign in now! Anonymously contributed messages may be delayed.




Security Code:
LTNCYH
:

Read more

 
E-mail
 
Webmaster Email: jewarnert@ucanr.edu