Thank you to everyone who saved their #6 Styrofoam and brought it to the Board of Health’s second annual Styrofoam collection event on May 31. We filled 28 bags—and most of a 26-foot truck!
The Styrofoam will be recycled by Gold Circuit, in Agawam, using a “hot melt densifying solution” so the result is cost-effective to ship to manufacturers. According to Gold Circuit, recycled foam “can be re-used in many ways, from framing and molding products to new insulation and film/foam products, foam can consistently be recycled over and over again.”
Many people asked if the town could collect Styrofoam all year long. Sadly, the answer is no. To make a collection affordable, we need to store the Styrofoam until the vendor can pick it up on a weekday. The Department of Public Works let us use the salt shed for weekend storage; it is only available from May to September, when it’s not full of salt. There is nowhere to store Styrofoam for several months. We were also asked why we didn’t collect food containers or cups. The reason is that Styrofoam is porous; it’s nearly impossible to fully clean Styrofoam food containers and contaminated Styrofoam can’t be recycled.
The Board of Health will evaluate another Styrofoam collection in September; one is planned for June 2026. Like this year, the event is open to all residents, even those who do not use the Transfer Station. Remember that all Styrofoam (white coolers and bulk pack only) must be clean, dry, and free of tape and labels. For anyone who can’t wait until next June, you can always bring your Styrofoam directly to Gold Circuit.
Thank you to the DPW for letting us use the DPW yard and the salt shed. Finally, thank you to the volunteers who ran the event: they directed traffic, sorted and bagged Styrofoam, and explained the process. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Libby Levison, Brad Holub, Chris Mitchell
Board of Health
