Styrofoam Recycling Matures on Orcas

The Exchange is now entering its third month of collecting Styrofoam at the Z-Wall here on Orcas Island. Our next step is to invest in a densifier—a machine that crushes, heats, and compresses Styrofoam into a dense plastic material that can be easily recycled.

As part of our research, Exchange staff were fortunate to tour Styro Recycle in Kent, Washington, in early June. Styro Recycle is the only commercial Styrofoam recycler in Washington State that we are currently aware of.

The company was founded by Marilyn Lauderdale, who discovered the problem while managing recycling operations at a nearby IKEA store. She discovered that the companies hired to handle IKEA’s Styrofoam packaging were not actually recycling much of it. Instead, large quantities were ending up in landfills or breaking down in storage yards.

Encouraged by IKEA management to find a better solution, Marilyn began researching alternatives and discovered the answer: densification.

Densification equipment grinds Styrofoam into small pieces, heats it, and compresses it into a thick, paste-like plastic that is highly recyclable. When IKEA declined to invest in the machinery, Marilyn took a second mortgage on her home and launched her own business.

Today, Styro Recycle employs more than a dozen people and processes several types of plastic-based packaging materials for customers throughout the Seattle area. The densified material is sold as a raw material for a wide range of products, including picture frames, decorative moldings, and even new Styrofoam packaging.

Styrofoam and other disposable packaging materials are far from ideal. There are many environmentally preferable alternatives available today. Nevertheless, large amounts of Styrofoam remain in circulation, and with the volume of goods shipped to Orcas Island, we felt it was important to address the problem.

The best option available is to keep as much of this material as possible out of the landfill through recycling and reuse. That’s why The Exchange has chosen to get involved. We intend to purchase our own densifier in the near future and partner with Styro Recycle as an outlet for the material we produce.

Every pound of Styrofoam we can divert from disposal is one more step toward a cleaner and more sustainable Orcas Island.