ROCKFORD..MICH — Kent County has opened a new Styrofoam recycling drop-off location, providing residents with an easy way to dispose of the bulky and hard-to-recycle material.
The new Styrofoam recycling station is located at the North Kent Recycling and Waste Center in Rockford, just west of the city. According to Matt McPherson, the marketing and communications manager for the Kent County Department of Public Works, the program was funded through a grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition.
"Just having another option for residents to recycle and looking for a way to divert the Styrofoam from the landfill," McPherson said.
The new recycling process involves a machine that compresses the Styrofoam into dense bricks, which will be then sold to be repurposed. This not only helps reduce the amount of Styrofoam ending up in landfills but also provides a convenient solution for local residents.
"We always have a lot of Styrofoam in the way. But now we got this," said Raul Huerta Jr., a resident of Rockford.
Prior to the new program, one resident had to travel to Big Rapids, a long distance away, to dispose of their Styrofoam. Now, the recycling center on 10 Mile Road makes it an easy stop for those already doing regular drop-offs of other materials.
"We used to have to go up to Big Rapids. There was a place up there that took it, but they had limited hours, and it was a long way to go," said Delton Paul Moore, a Cedar Springs resident.
The county hopes the new Styrofoam recycling option will encourage more people to keep the material out of landfills. As of right now, they have 1,600 pounds of the condensed foam with about 1,000 people coming to drop off a day. The station accepts any kind of white foam and, the packaging foam.
"So we're used to recycling plastic bottles or cans or boxes. This is just another, newer option for recycling," McPherson said.
For more information you can visit: reimaginetrash.org
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