The Coon Rapids Recycling Center has received a $50,000 grant from the Foam Recycling Alliance to enhance its existing foam recycling program. Therefore, the Recycling Center is getting an upgrade to accommodate increased drop-offs of foam packaging waste.



According to the Recycling Coordinator Colleen Sinclair, the recycling center has seen an uptick in drop-offs during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to people cleaning their houses during this special time.

In addition, due to the inconvenience of eating out during the epidemic, the number of family takeaways has greatly increased, which leads to the recycling center received a lot of food-grade foam packaging waste, such as food containers, coffee cups, etc. These materials are not normally accepted by the recycling center, however, after receiving the grant, The Coon Rapids Recycling Center has funds to invest in more advanced equipment to effectively dispose of various foam waste such as foam food trays.



In fact, many community recycling centers have adopted professional foam recycling machine as the GREENMAX foam densifier. This equipment can crush and melt the loose foam packaging waste, reduce foam volume with the compression ratio of 90:1, and finally make loose foam into dense foam ingots. 



Most recyclers or foam manufacturers are unwilling to directly accept the recycling of loose foam materials. They are more willing to accept foam blocks or ingots, and purchase them with a higher price for granulation and reuse. For recycling centers and end users, the foam ingots can also save storage and transportation costs and earn more profits after melted by a foam densifier. 

The recycled foam can be used for many purposes, such as making photo frames, hangers, plastic storage boxes, etc., to realize the renewable use of resources.