Styrofoam Recycling
Styrofoam has an extremely long life and takes up a large amount of space in landfills. As it is very light pieces of it tend to end up in waterways and oceans where it gets broken down into small pieces that marine animals can mistake for food. At WCS Recycling we compress the Styrofoam down into dense blocks. These blocks are sent to downstream processors such as, Westcoast Plastics, Blue Planet Recycling, and Intco Recycling where it is up-cycled into new items such as picture frames, crown moldings, and base boards. For more information on Styrofoam recycling check out our informative Styrofoam Powerpoint Presentation!
Laminate Recycling
Laminates take hundreds of years to biodegrade in a landfill but can alternatively be recycled into energy. Laminates collected at WCS Recycling are compacted and then sent to Merlin Plastics in Delta. At Merlin Plastics they are processed into an engineered fuel that is used to make energy in place of conventional fossil fuels. Merlin Plastic’s engineered fuel burns cleaner and has a 20% higher energy content than coal.
Sources: Blue Planet Recycling, Canadian Plastics Industry Association
Author: Leah Coulter