04/14/2012
Recycle or Precycle
Now that grocery stores don't accept styrofoam meat trays, egg cartons, or restaurant "to-go" boxes anymore, what can you do with them?
There are no recycling options for Styrofoam used as food packaging or molded Styrofoam. It is no longer recyclable by anyone in the region because there's just no market for it. There certainly is a supply, but no demand. California had the last major polystyrene recycling facility in the country and that was closed down last year.
Recycling the material is totally uneconomical due to high quality standards for cleanliness and because it is a low-weight material. , Recyclers are paid by the pound & the revenue generated did not come close to covering collection, hauling and processing costs. There are no markets for post-consumer (i.e. used) styrofoam in Colorado, so the material would have to be shipped quite a distance. We don't see any new markets developing in the near future either; so what to do when you can't recycle? Precycle.
As far as eggs are concerned, we recommend buying the paper egg cartons that can be recycled with paperboard. The next time you go to a restaurant a "to-go" container, ask the restaurant if they use something other than styrofoam.
Sheets, blocks and peanuts still have good recycling avenues in Colorado so keep up the good recycling efforts!