The Municipality of Meaford has partnered with local community group Transition Meaford to offer free expanded polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, drop off for residents as a one-year recycling pilot program.
Through Second Wind Recycling, an expanded polystyrene recycling service based out of St. Thomas, Ontario, all material recycled through the pilot program will be collected and delivered to an end user for re-purposing into a new product.
Starting Saturday, October 9, and running the second Saturday of every month, residents of Meaford can drop off expanded polystyrene at 87 Stewart Street (beside the Meaford Firehall) between 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., with no disposal fees. Please do not drop off items after hours.
Transition Meaford is volunteering their time to operate the program.
“Partnering with Transition Meaford is an excellent example of how community and municipal partnerships can benefit the community by providing enhanced services to residents,” said Manager/Chief Operator of Environmental Services, Chris Collyer. “We are so pleased to pilot a program that can divert waste from landfills and recycle that material in a way that we know it is being repurposed into another product such as a picture frame.”
Expanded polystyrene items that can be disposed of through this new recycling program include: rigid packaging for computers, electronic, appliances, and toys. The material must be clean, dry, and free of tape or stickers.
Currently, residents have been able to place their expanded polystyrene in clear plastic bags for pick-up as part of the waste management garbage stream. Although pick-up has historically been free, the collected material is disposed of in a landfill, resulting in significant environmental impact.
Beginning November 1, any expanded polystyrene placed at the curb for Miller Waste pick-up will be required to have a bag tag for disposal. Expanded polystyrene recycling will not be available for institutional, commercial, or industrial customers at this time.
Any changes to the drop off schedule or service will be communicated by a Municipality of Meaford media release and on the Meaford Waste App. The Waste App can be installed through the app store on Apple and Android devices, or you can sign up for notifications by email, text message, or phone call by visiting www.meaford.ca/waste.
For more information on the program, please visit https://www.meaford.ca/styrofoam.
