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Confused because the styrofoam containers have the little recycle logo on them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kefir King
Yep,
Mine say "6 PS" in the recycle triangle. Presumably "polystyrene."
You would think they could be used to produce insulation sheets.
They have the recycle logo on them because I believe there are a few places that will accept products labeled three, six or seven, albeit not very many. And not here.
Pretty sure most of the stuff we recycle is in the one and two category. Not many places recycle the other three I listed. These numbers do not help all of the time though.
Not sure what the new ones include (although from this it seems like some of the items listed as threes and fives) but I find it easier to just follow the picture chart anyway. I know the mailed out a new one since my parents got it but no word from my building yet.
Edit: Found this---http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/plasticpam.pdf
When I lived in Jersey City, I called the Sanitation Department and asked. You would think I had confronted a meeting of the G-8 with an insoluble problem.
After MUCH ADO, the consensus ruled that Styrofoam went into the garbage and was not recycled. (I should have called the DeCavalcantes for a faster ruling.)
Grosvenor,
Yes it is sad that so few places use cardboard egg containers. The only ones I see are the "organic" eggs but I won't pay $5 a dozen for eggs.
That makes sense because those types of companies tend to be more environmentally conscious. The $5.00 isn't just for the organic product but also the packaging. I admit that I've become much more environmentally conscious but it certainly does take a lot more time and effort. The city keeps saying they're making it easier, but it seems to be a slow process.
Some of the sanitation workers are confused whether styrofoam are reclyclable or not too. My neighbor
bought a TV last year, and he put all the styrofoam packaging in a clear recycle bag next to the regular
garbage on recycling collection day, both sanitation crews( garbage guys and recycling guys) didn't take
the styrofoam bag. My neighbor took it back and put them in a black garbage bag, and it's gone the next
collection day.
NYC's recycling program does not accept Foam Plasticsfor recycling.
Expanded polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam®, constitutes about ½ of one percent (0.5%) of NYC's waste. The recyclable plastics that DSNY collects comprise about 2.14%. (To put this in perspective, recyclable paper comprises about 23% of NYC's waste)
Why NYC Doesn't Accept Foam Plastics for Recycling
Foam plastic is very difficult to recycle unless kept very clean and separate from all other types of plastic. For this reason, New York City and most other cities' plastics recycling programs do not collect it with commingled recycling.Because of the difficulty of recycling expanded polystyrene, there are relatively few plants in the U.S. that will take it. This means that the material must be shipped to distant factories. The transport and processing is expensive, unsustainable, and not environmentally friendly.
DSNY Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling encourages New Yorkers to consider alternatives to foam plastic wherever possible.
Is Styrofoam supposed to go into recyclables or into garbage?
It sounds like a simple question but ask 50 City workers and you get a 25-25 split.
Regular garbage!
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