Collier County has launched a pilot program to recycle foam. While a few private businesses around the state recycle foam, Collier County officials believe theirs is the first government foam recycling initiative in Florida. A $50,000 grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition allowed the county to purchase a foam densifier that compacts polystyrene foam — don’t call it Styrofoam because that’s a trademark — into compact blocks.
Foam products are over 90% air, so densifying it allows the material to be transported more cost-effectively. A vendor who has agreed to buy the blocks then converts the material into things like photo frames and crown molding for houses, said Evelyn Longa, public information officer for the county’s solid waste division.
Initially, the pilot program is only available at the county’s North Collier recycling plant on Goodlette-Frank Road, south of Immokalee Road. Residents and businesses can bring foam such as egg cartons, clean food containers, foam sheets and blocks used in packing to the center to drop off free of charge. The bane of the unpackers’ world, foam peanuts, cannot be recycled and should not be included. “The peanuts are made from a different material and they’re small and they clog the machine,” Longa said.