Go green with Styrofoam recycling

The city of Roseville's Environmental Utilities Department recently launched a pilot program to begin collecting and recycling Styrofoam.The pilot program, a first for the region, will provide Styrofoam recycling bins at selected recycle drop-off sites throughout the city. The program will also collect Styrofoam at participating retail sites within Roseville and is timed to capture the high volume of Styrofoam generated during the holiday season. About 1,700 pounds of Styrofoam have been collected through the program.The Styrofoam collected by the city is condensed and transported to companies who pay for the collected Styrofoam to be recycled and made into items such as baseboards, crown molding, lightweight concrete and packaging. The city will accept clean Styrofoam only. No food packaging or packing peanuts are allowed.For residents, Styrofoam recycling bins have been placed at the following locations:n Maidu Park at 1550 Maidu Drive. n Washington Boulevard at 800 All American City Blvd., across from Placer County Fairgrounds.n Mahany Park at 1575 Pleasant Grove Blvd., next to Bear Dog Park.n Berry Street off of Galleria Boulevard.The city has placed recycling bins for commercial use at Ashley Furniture (384 N. Sunrise Ave.) and Magnolia Hi-Fi (1164 Galleria Blvd.). The city is working with other retailers to place Styrofoam recycling bins at other major retail centers in Roseville, which are provided to retailers and hauled away for free. Businesses in Roseville interested in participating in the Styrofoam recycling program are encouraged to contact Chris Uhercik at 774-5786 for more information.In 1999, an estimated 300,000 tons of Styrofoam was landfilled in California at an estimated cost of $30 million. Due to its light weight, it is a large source of litter both on land and in waterways. Cities bear the expense of cleaning up this material with costs estimated at more than one dollar per pound. Collecting Styrofoam and directing it towards recycling helps save money, and is good for the environment. Additional information about Roseville's Styrofoam recycling program can be found at www.roseville.ca.-us/styrofoam.