Ways to Recycle Styrofoam

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Dana

The plastic polystyrene, more widely known as Styrofoam can be found all over the place but is almost impossible to recycle. If you’re already recycling, you probably already know that most recycling companies won’t take Styrofoam materials.

The reason for this is it takes so long to break down, is intensely flammable and if animals eat it, they can die.
You can also run into products that are made from Styrofoam but don’t look like they are. To be sure, see if the number 6 is stamped somewhere on the item. It’ll probably be a long time before people stop using Styrofoam, so people need to know how to recycle it. Aside from avoiding all use of it, there are other ways to deal with it.

First of all, if you have Styrofoam products in your home, don’t throw them in your garbage. Following are some ways you can make use of the Styrofoam:

• Keep it for packaging. If you need to ship things, Styrofoam is the best packing material you can find. Break it into various sized pieces and store them in a bag until you need it.

• Give it away to other people who may need it for packing material. Friends and family can always use your extra Styrofoam to ship things. They can also use them for different craft projects. You can put them into planters as the filler that will improve water drainage.

• Recycle it by looking for any company that will take it and work their magic to recycle it. Some of these companies will let you mail it to them.

While these are all better options than to just let the Styrofoam leftovers end up in a landfill, of course, the best thing is to just not use them at all. Second to that, find the companies that WILL take your stray Styrofoam and do whatever they do to recycle it.

However, most people do find it difficult to avoid using Styrofoam products of some type. Even if you make an effort to avoid it, you may not always catch it. Therefore, do what you can to keep from adding it to your local landfills. If you can do that, the environment will be most appreciative.