Atlanta-Area Recycling Event with a Side of Greenwashing
The Roswell Recycling Center and Styrocyclers will hold a one-day polystyrene, or Styrofoam, recycling event on Saturday, May 2 from 8am to 2pm. They’re only accepting polystyrene packaging. Egg cartons, plates, takeout containers, and cups can’t be recycled.
While researching about the event, I came across this little gem on the Styrocyclers website (emphasis mine):
- » See also: Atlanta Museum Offers Free IMAX Ticket for Recycling Your Cell Phone
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STYROCYCYLERS objective is to promote the recycling of EPS (expanded polystyrene) and in the process educate the public the sustainability of EPS packaging and the many uses of EPS. Most people recognize EPS as Styrofoam™. That is why we called the company STYROCYCLERS to catch the publics attention. Unfortunately there are many misconceptions of EPS, the main one being that it is not recyclable. Well for all the folks on the “lets ban EPS band wagon”, it is 100% recyclable with a 100% life cycle. It can be recycled over and over again. (sic)
Yikes! There are plenty of reasons to jump on the so-called “ban EPS band wagon.” First off, let’s be honest here: polystyrene is a petroleum product. There is no getting around it. Also, the process for recycling polystyrene is not closed loop like the website implies. You have to mix new polystyrene with the old to make a usable final product. The process for making new polystyrene is also highly toxic. Not only does it release ozone and hydrocarbons into our air, it’s associated with respiratory problems and eye irritation when workers are exposed. Long term exposure also “affects the central nervous system showing symptoms such as depression, headache, fatigue, and weakness, and can cause minor effects on kidney function and blood.”
Reduce, Re-Use, THEN Recycle
This is a great example of why the three R’s are set up the way they are, with recycling last. The best way to avoid all the negative impacts of Styrofoam is to just avoid the nasty stuff all together. Reduce!
Styrofoam also accounts for a large amount of landfill waste, so yes, recycle it if you’ve got it! If you live in the Atlanta area, the event up in Roswell looks like a convenient place to get rid of any Styrofoam you’ve been hanging on to. The Roswell Recycling Center is located at 11570 Maxwell Road, Alpharetta 30009.
Image Credits:
Packing Peanuts - Creative Commons photo by dmatos.
Bye-Bye Styrofoam - Creative Commons photo by faeryboots.
I only wish you would get your facts straight before you start doing much worse than “greenwashing”. We are attempting to contact Roswell about adding egg cartons to the list of what is accepted. My company will happily pick them up and use the material to make new egg cartons; something we have been doing for over 20 years now. The facts am am talking about have to do with your assertion about the toxic chemicals in our products.Styrene is the monomer that is transformed into the polymer, polystyrene. The level of styrene that might migrate into a food is strictly regulated at a level far below any level that might be harmful. If you are worried about our product on that issue, I suggest you recommend to your readers that they nolonger eat anything containing cinnamon, strawberries, peanuts, and many more foods all of which contain higher level of styrene than you might get from a food packaged in PS.
Thanks for the info about the egg cartons. Great news!
What I take issue with is the website’s claim that Styrofoam is “sustainable.” I’m skeptical that a petroleum product can be sustainable, especially since it requires new raw materials to recycle. Can you explain a bit more? If I’m missing the point, I’d love your feedback.
Can you provide me with a link to the event on the City of Roswell website? I searched, but could not find it. Thanks!
Hey Maria! It looks like Roswell Recycles is running the event:
http://www.keeproswellbeautiful.org/NewsRecyclingCenterFeb09.html
Ugh! I was actually cleaning out my storage yesterday when this event happened. I found your page by searching for “Atlanta Styrofoam recycling” b/c I’ve got four huge boxes full of the stuff– all clean, neat, and packaged.
Ugh! Any suggestions about where I can take this stuff now since I missed the big day yesterday?
Thanks!
Sammy - the company that did the recycling at the event may take direct dropoffs. Here’s their website:
http://www.styrocyclers.com/recycle.html
Thanks for the info. Since I live intown and I’ve got too much of the stuff to fit in one trip, I may put ads on Freecyle and craigslist to see if anyone could use/reuse it. Thanks!