Got Styrofoam but don't want to trash it? The city of Coquitlam now has a place for its residents to drop off the packaging - for free.
Starting this month, residents can recycle their clean white Styrofoam at Wastech's construction facility, located at the southwest corner of United Boulevard and King Edward Street.
Other items that can be disposed there include:
Styrofoam blocks
electronic packing (foam sheets, blocks and film)
clean foam food containers (clam shells, meat trays and plates);
white insulation board off-cuts.
Still, foam packing peanuts, packing noodles, expanding foam caulking, dirty or contaminated foam, hard plastic #6 and coloured Styrofoam won't be allowed. Instead, the city recommends it be shipped to Return-It centres.
Steffanie Warriner, Coquitlam's environmental services division manager, said the Styrofoam dropped off in the 20-foot-long covered bin will be collected on an "as-needed basis" by the city's current provider, Smithrite.
BFI Canada will continue the pick-up when it takes over the Coquitlam garbage contract on July 1. The material will be transferred less than a block away to Foam Only (which only accepts Styrofoam from commercial clients) to be re-used for items such as picture frames and door mouldings.
Warriner said the $10,000 program pays for the use of the Wastech site, a management fee, bin rental and collection. It is modelled after similar programs in Burnaby and New Westminster.
Warriner said Coquitlam city staff have been hearing from residents for years about the need for a place to recycle Styrofoam.
"There's a demand for this. People want to do the right thing because you can't leave it at the curbside," she said.
The Styrofoam drop-off program is restricted to Coquitlam residents; proof of residency is required. For more information, visit coquitlam.ca/recycling.
