Hilltopper Refuse & Recycling was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Food Packaging Institute’s Foam Recycling Coalition to begin recycling #6 polystyrene foam. More commonly known as Styrofoam, #6 polystyrene foam is what comes with packaging and is what foam cups are made of. This project is in collaboration with the La Crosse County and 7 Rivers Recycling. Jackie Davis with the La Crosse County solid waste department says that this partnership is a perfect fit.
“We are in a unique position where we already operate a permanent drop-off for residents for materials like demolition or garbage and recyclables like cardboard and mixed recyclables and mattresses. So this was a natural step for us to add foam recycling to the other materials that we already accept at our drop off facility.”
Instead of sitting in a landfill, these foam materials will now go through a machine called a densifier to take out all of air. From there it will be sent to a vendor to be turned into other products such as window frames, crown molding, lawn furniture, and much more. By recycling polystyrene foam, the reliance on virgin materials such as oil will be reduced and will minimize the environmental impacts as well as creating longer lasting landfills.