Recently, the village of Western Springs in Chicago will begin to hold monthly Styrofoam recycling collections. The idea came from First Congregational Church of Western Springs, where Wendy Vichick, a member of the church's green team, said it has held Styrofoam recycling collections previously.



Because it is light and easily breaks apart or flies away, Styrofoam is not a material that is accepted by most recyclers in Western Springs and other communities.
Despite those problems, Vichick said it is a bad thing when the material goes to landfills.



"It never breaks down in the landfill and the Styrofoam blocks take up a lot of space," she said.
Only 1.3 percent of all polystyrene discarded in 2013 was recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Because of its lightness — foam is about 95 percent air by weight — large amounts need to be collected and compressed before it can be recycled.
While people support using less Styrofoam, something still needs to be done about the large amount already out there, and recycling is a good option.
It's kind of an amazing thing when you go around and collect it. You can't believe there is that much.



Recycling requires energy and other resources. Such as a recycling machine, the key to collect and recycle this material. Such a recycling machine ought to be applicable for all foam recycling. To crush the foam into small pieces and then compact them into foam blocks. After that, the foam will not be light or easily breaks apart or flies away, it can be easy recycled with enhanced density.



The collections of Styrofoam, which is the trademark for polystyrene, will be held on the first Saturday of the month for a six-month trial period. The first will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Grand Avenue Community Center, 4211 Grand Ave.