35 Times More Polystyrene Loaded into Each Truck for Recycling : New Polystyrene Foam Densifier to Cut Truck Traffic for Canadian Recycler

In Canada the Niagara Region has become first municipality in Ontario to install a polystyrene foam densifier to compresses large volumes of polystyrene foam in a municipally-owned recycling facility.

The unveiling of the technology was attended by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA), the Niagara Regional Chair Alan Caslin, members of Regional Council, and representatives from Waste Diversion Ontario’s Continuous Improvement Fund.

The technology is being used to compress polystyrene foam, collected both the kerbside in the Blue Box and at Regional Drop-off Depots, into highly dense, stackable blocks which can be turned into new products such as picture frames, decorative mouldings and office supplies.

The densifier was funded through a partnership involving Niagara Region, Waste Diversion Ontario Continuous Improvement Fund and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

According to the CPIA the new densifier technology enables a significant reduction in the number of truckloads used to transport the densified foam material for recycling – for every densified load 35 to 40 trucks of loose un-densified foam is taken off the road.

Carol Hochu, President and CEO of Canadian Plastics Industry Association said that the initiative highlights the benefits of working with partners, such as Niagara Region, the Continuous Improvement Fund, communities, recyclers and other industries, to expand the efficient recycling of plastics resources.

“It is model partnerships like these that result in the use of technologies that continuously improve and make plastics recycling more efficient and accessible to all stakeholders,” she said.

“By densifying the polystyrene and reducing the number of trucks on the road, we are reducing transportation greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85%. This results in a doubling of environmental o.utcomes – both from the recycling efforts as well as the emissions reductions," concluded Hochu

Mike Birett, Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) added: “To date, the CIF has provided $2.795M in funding to Niagara Region to support 14 worthwhile projects with a combined value of $4.821M as part of a successful and long standing partnership.”

The facility also features fibre optic NIR sorting system to detect and separate different types of recyclable materials, including newsprint, cardboard and plastic. This technology was funded through a partnership between Niagara Region and Waste Diversion Ontario Continuous Improvement Fund.

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