Calgary launches polystyrene recycling pilot project

Calgarians can now bring their Styrofoam waste to be recycled at any of the city's three landfills.

For the next six months, the City of Calgary's Waste and Recycling Services team will collect the material free of charge.

“Calgarians have been asking for a Styrofoam recycling program similar to those offered by other nearby municipalities for some time,” project manager Elias Tomaras said in a press release.

“Calgarians want to keep recyclables out of the landfill, which is valuable in terms of expanding our landfill space for future use.”

To participate in the pilot project, Calgarians must bring their foam waste to the landfill and make sure it is free of food, tape, glue, stickers and other debris.

Styrofoam is accepted free of charge, but residents will be charged an appropriate fee if other waste materials are in the shipment.

Examples of styrofoam waste include styrofoam shipping packaging, styrofoam egg cartons, styrofoam meat trays with absorbent pads removed, and styrofoam containers.

Only white or colored foam will be accepted, the city said. All black polystyrene foam should be disposed of with normal waste.

Officials say the recycling pilot program is an important part of Calgary's waste collection strategy because the material cannot be placed in blue carts because it breaks and decomposes when compacted inside the trucks.

“The broken pieces cannot be separated from other recyclables, and this mix of materials is incompatible with the recycling process, meaning neither foam nor other recyclables can be properly recycled,” officials said.

The city says all recycled foam can be melted down and reused to make new products such as cabinets, bicycle helmets, tiles, frames and other plastic molds.

More information about waste collection, including instructions on what goes where, can be found on the city's website.