Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Oh, Oh Styrofoam

So you may remember a couple weeks back my husband surprised me with a  brand-spankin' new sewing machine (whom I named Hilde). Such an awesome gift. The only problem is that it came immersed in a box of styrofoam (#6). Styrofoam is a plastic, which can cause a whole host of problems and are definitely NOT good for the environment. They are made from non-renewable petroleum, they do not biodegrade and therefore clog landfills, and they are making their way into the oceans and other natural environments and harming wildlife. So, we try to use as few plastics as possible and make sure to recycle whatever plastics we DO use.
Here in lies the problem... this styrofoam, which is technically recyclable, is not readily recycled, at least not here in Portland. After some research and several phone calls, I found one place that will take it, however, it is 5 miles each way to drop it off (and a $5 fee to do so). I don't think the greenhouse gases emitted by me driving 10 miles in the car makes it worth it to recycle a fairly small amount of styrofoam packaging. If I had a whole car full yes, but for a box full, nope.
So, why make recyclable things if they are not being recycled? If there is not a market, can't we create one? Require all styrofoam to have at least a percentage of recycled material in it?
Has anyone else found a place to take styrofoam or found a good use for it? I decided to send the company an email and see if they would take the packaging back and reuse it. I will keep you posted with the response I get, and hopefully the news will be good! Otherwise this styrofoam will sadly be making its way into my trash can.... Pin It Now!
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5 comments:

  1. TatApril 12, 2011 at 7:17 PM

    We have the same issue with styrofoam, there is usually a lot of it and you can't put it in the normal recycling bin. The most regular source of it is wholesale pasta packaging that my husband usually buys for his shop. Luckily they have agreed at the company that he can bring it back every time and they will reuse it.

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  2. GetrealmommyApril 12, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    The amount of packaging things come in is just insane-especially kid's toys, have you noticed that? Good luck!

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  3. The Gallery GalApril 13, 2011 at 8:26 PM

    I hate styrofoam. I actually tell people I am allergic to it because it literally makes me cringe. My hair stands in end and i get shivers. We try to reuse flat pieces from things such as furniture boxes for packing artwork in my gallery. Maybe a local shop that ships could break it down and re-use it instead of things like packing peanuts. The thought of putting it in a landfill for eternity disturbs me too. You might also like my cousins blog... http://garbagelessintoronto.blogspot.com She talks about green products and how to minimize plastics and other unnecessary waste.
    I enjoy your blog,
    Jenny, The Gallery Gal

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  4. Mama Gone GreenApril 16, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Thanks for the link to your cousins blog Jenny! I love it!

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  5. Amy A @ Child Central StationMay 14, 2011 at 5:49 PM

    We hate it too.... but, we have found that you can grate it and make your own "floam" with some of it for the children to play with. Not the best use, but better than it not getting re-used at all.

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