Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/592269
| SuStainability | R esidents and commercial companies in Denver Colorado and Colchester County, Nova Scotia (Canada) will soon be able to add polystyrene foam packaging to their curbside recycling bins thanks to a densifier grant provided by the Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC), part of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. The FRC program helps communities that are interested in recycling polystyrene foam foodservice packaging, egg cartons, meat trays and protective packaging. Alpine Waste & Recycling of Commerce City, Colorado was selected as the first recipient of a $45,000 grant. It will go towards the purchase of a large scale foam densifier to compact EPS foam into bricks. Vice President of Recycling for Alpine, Brent Hildebrand, commented that this grant allows them the opportunity to fulfill the wishes of consumers who have continually expressed a desire to recycle foam. It also allows the company to continue to foster its innovative culture and be at the forefront of the recycling industry. Denver's curbside PS recycling program is expected to be up and running by September. The second winner, Colchester County, will use its $50,000 grant to upgrade their existing facility and purchase a foam densifier. The recovered foam will be processed in a material recovery facility (MRF) owned by the Municipality of the County of Colchester. 4 PS Curbside Recycling at Work Located in the center of Nova Scotia near the Trans-Canada Highway, the Kemptown facility also provides processing contracts with neighboring municipalities and waste management authorities. "Colchester demonstrated to us a strong desire and commitment to recycle foam, which is exactly what we're looking for from our grant winners," said Lynn Dyer, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, which houses the Coalition. An example of their current communications program is an active Twitter feed, @ColchesterWRM. The FRC grants are available to both public and private sector organizations and are determined on a case-by-case basis, decided by the equipment needs for a community. They range from an estimated $15,000 to $50,000 each. As part of the grant, the communities will commit to recycling polystyrene for a minimum of three years and will report the volume of foam being recycled to the coalition. Funding is contingent on successfully implementing the plan within six months of receiving the grant. The Foam Recycling Coalition is a part of the Foodservice Packaging Institute and its members include Americas Styrenics, Cascades Canada ULC, CKF Inc., Chick-fil-A, Commodore, Convermex, D&W Fine Pack, Dart Container Corp., Dolco Packaging, Dyne-A-Pak, Genpak, Hawaii Foam Products, Pactiv Foodservice/Food Packaging, Shell Chemical LP and Styrolution America LLC. Additional support is provided by the EPS Industry Alliance.