Atlanta-Area Recycling Event with a Side of Greenwashing

Who knew you could even recycle Styrofoam? Sure, recycling the stuff is better than tossing it into a landfill. Every bit of this petroleum product that’s recycled is a bit less made from new materials. We shouldn’t see this as a green light to stock up on the packing peanuts, though, like Styrocyclers, the recycling company handling the Styrofoam at the Roswell event seems to advocate.

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.

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