A new recycling program focused on finding an effective solution for recycling packaging materials has been carried out at the Seamans Center.
The pilot program has been brought to campus by Engineering Staff Advisory Council members Rachel Marek and Blake Rupe, who share interests in sustainability. They are knowing about the environmental impact of recycling and are gradually aware of its importance, so that they want to promote their recycling programs to increase people’s awareness of recycling.
“There are always some foam materials that you don’t known how to deal with. When I learned about this program from the city mailboxes, it remained me of the foam boxes I have. I resolutely decided to save my packaging materials at home to drop off instead of throwing them in the garbage.” said Marek, “We saw the potential for diverting a large amount of waste from the landfill.”
In fact, such a program has also contributed to Styrofoam recycling.
With the system they have been practiced, the Sustainability Office provides the recycling bins, and Iowa City has agreed to pick up the packing material when the bins are full. There are bins for bubble wrap, Styrofoam, and natural packaging peanuts mixed together, and two bins for air pockets.
The reason why Styrofoam recycling has become popular is that the lightweight material has found its way in recycling with a kind of Styrofoam compactor. It has been proved that the waste can be transported easily due to the 50:1 foam volume reduction of GREENMAX Styrofoam compactor.
It is reported that a large amount of waste Styrofoam are dragged to landfill whether packages or fish boxes. In reality many recycling company recycle Styrofoam, utilize it and turn into something else. INTCO is well known as producing frames by purchased Styrofoam. If the recycling program of Styrofoam is adopted by other areas, it is believed that millions of dollars will be saved at least annually.