Dive Brief:
- Santa Cruz County, CA announced that its local recycling center will start accepting polystyrene waste in January 2015.
- San Lorenzo Valley Redemption and Recycling Centers acquired a styrofoam recycling machine. The equipment melts the foam blocks into a paste, which can be re-used and as a commodity.
- Thanks to the mobility of the equipment, the recycling facility plans to use it at multiple disposal sites.
Dive Insight:
The recycling facility plans to sell the paste to manufacturers in China, where it will be used to create picture frames and crown molding. The glue is considered one of the center’s most valuable products, selling for around 40 cents per pound. David Wright, the director of the facility, said that there is a strong demand for the glue.
In 2009, it was estimated that 426 tons of styrofoam are sitting in landfills across the U.S. Santa Cruz county has implemented a ban on polystyrene packaging used at restaurants since 2008, and most towns within the county have since issued a ban on the sale of polystyrene products.
According to data released by the EPS Industry Alliance, expanded polystyrene recycling increased to 127.3 million pounds in 2013, up 35% from 2012.
