1. Why can’t Styrofoam be recycled?
Polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, is recyclable in some parts of the country, but most materials recovery facilities still do not accept it as part of their recycling program. Much of the Styrofoam we use is contaminated with food or drink and is not even accepted at a drop-off site or a mail-back recycling program. Polystyrene is also bulky, and it does not break down. While polystyrene generally comprises only about 2% of the total municipal solid waste stream by weight, it can be as much as 30% of the total volume in a landfill due to its excessive use in packaging.
To recycle Styrofoam requires special equipment, and it is not economically feasible to transport enough ultra-light foam products to make up for the cost of transportation to the foam recycling facilities (the closest I found is in New Jersey). That leaves us with no alternative but to put the stuff in the trash – or learn how to avoid its use entirely!
2. How many times can plastic be recycled?
Recycling suggests a mostly closed circle in which stuff is continually recycled, but beverage companies, for example, tend to use only a small amount of recycled plastic in their new bottles, because 100% recycled plastic is not transparent. More likely, your plastic bottle is being turned into an item of lesser value, such as plastic lumber, carpets or a fleece sweatshirt. Plastic also degrades in quality when it is recycled. It’s difficult to know how many times a piece of plastic will get recycled before becoming unusable, but, after that, it is landfilled, incinerated, or ends up in the environment.
Experts tell us the only real solution is to make and consume less plastic.
3. What about bubble wrap?
Bubble wrap turns out to be the same stuff as single-use plastic bags and most of the plastic wrappings from the grocery store, so it can be recycled in the plastics recycling bins at the store. It cannot be directly recycled in your curbside recycle bin because, like the bags from the grocery store, it will get tangled up in the sorting machinery if it’s in with the single-stream items. Note: At this time, only Hannaford will take bubble wrap or (clean) bags and wrappers from whatever they sell, as long as the bag stretches when you try to poke a hole in it, while Shaw’s will accept only the single-use bags in which they are currently packing your groceries during the coronavirus pandemic. Also note: The exception to what Hannaford can accept is the bags holding the frozen items like frozen vegetables. Those are a different type of plastic, and they cannot be recycled. Avoid them when you can. The best practice is to use cloth or mesh bags and fresh vegetables.
Harry Hopcroft is a member of the Brunswick Recycling & Sustainability Committee.
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