How to Recycle Styrofoam in Seattle

Recycle Styrofoam items to avoid polluting landfills.

Styrofoam is found in a variety of packing materials and food packages --- even in sheet insulation for homes. Styrofoam is becoming harder to dispose of due to ongoing changes in federal, state and local municipal government disposal regulations. However, you can recycle Styrofoam in Seattle, Washington, by utilizing the services of recycling organizations found in the area.

Things You'll Need

• Boxes
• Paper
• Pen

Instructions

1. Flip over furniture, appliance or other packing Styrofoam blocks or materials and look for the number six. Six is the recycling symbol for Styrofoam. The six may be inside a triangular emblem with an arrow design. Styro Recycle of Renton, Washington specifies, "You can tell if your materials are Styrofoam by bending them so that they snap in half and break with loose beads."

2. Wash Styrofoam picnic or lunch trays with soapy water. Allow items to air dry. Organizations will not take items with food debris.

3. Box up Styrofoam packing peanuts.

4. Separate your Styrofoam materials by type. Place boxes of Styrofoam peanuts together. Stack Styrofoam lunch trays and food packaging plates into a collection. Group Styrofoam furniture and similar packaging materials.

5. Jot down an inventory list of the types of Styrofoam items that you have and a count of how many. Some organizations only accept certain types or amounts of Styrofoam materials; therefore, a list is necessary to keep track of items.

6. Call the Washington State Recycling Hotline at 1-800-732-9253 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to speak to a representative who can assist in finding appropriate organizations that can take your Styrofoam materials for recycling. Tell the representative what items that you have and jot down a list of locations that will take each type of Styrofoam material.

7. Box remaining Styrofoam items, if need be, to make travel and unloading easier.

8. Drop off your Styrofoam items to the appropriate organizations that the Washington State Recycling Hotline recommends.

Tips & Warnings

• Drive to Renton, Washington, if you have trouble finding an organization to take your packing peanuts or furniture packing materials. According to Waste Management, "V&G Styro Recycle in Renton is the only business in the area that you can drop off Styrofoam blocks for free which will be recycled into new plastic." Visit the V&G Styro Recycle website for driving directions and the location address. Waste Management recommends that you save up your items if you live far away and make a trip periodically. Renton is less than 20 miles away from Seattle.

References

• Earth Resource Foundation: Polystyrene Foam Report
• V&G Styro Recycle: Styrofoam Recycling Brochure PDF
• Washington State Department of Ecology: 1 800 Recycle Hotline Database
• Waste Management: Styrofoam Recycling

Resources

• DART: Polystyrene Foam Recycling
• V&G Styro Recycle