As part of Wollongong City Council’s focus on environmental sustainability we’re taking steps to keep polystyrene out of landfill.
Starting this week, Wollongong residents will be able to drop off polystyrene for recycling at Council’s Community Recycling Centre (CRC) located at our waste disposal depot in Kembla Grange.
Previously, polystyrene has had to go into landfill as we’ve not had the technology required to process the material on site into a reusable product.
From Monday 4 April residents will be able to drop-off any polystyrene into receptacles at the CRC which will be collected and distributed to Waste Pro who will then process the material on site with their mobile Foam Muncher processing unit.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said that it was important to recycle polystyrene as it does not break down in landfill.
“Recycling polystyrene isn’t easy, but it is possible. Instead of letting it take up room in our landfill, we will be working with Waste Pro to recycle polystyrene into a raw material that can create new products,” Cr Bradbery said.
“It’s also really important that we keep waste such as polystyrene out of our environment, and especially our oceans. Recycling this material properly will help reduce this impact on our coastal areas and marine life.”
Council first investigated the possibilities of recycling polystyrene back in December 2021, with a trial. The trial gave us a good idea of what would and wouldn’t work for our community, and we’ve since been able to set-up a collection system at the CRC for residents to drop-off any polystyrene they have at home to be safely recycled.
The most important thing to remember is that there’s a difference between polystyrene foam and polyethylene (PE) foam. We’re only accepting polystyrene at Council’s CRC.
“There is an easy way to tell the difference. Polystyrene – which we accept – is hard, rigid, often white and makes squeaky sounds. It’s the sort of material that’s often used as packaging or found in bean bags,” Cr Bradbery said.
“Polyethylene foam on the other hand is tough and flexible, often contains clear bubbles and layers. Examples of this material are thin plastic foam sheets used to wrap furniture as well as the classic children’s “pool noodle” toys. This material, will need to still go into your red-lidded bins.”
What is accepted?
Clean and dry:
- Polystyrene sheets
- Polystyrene blocks
- Polystyrene packaging
- Polystyrene Food Packaging (clean, no food)
- Polystyrene Bean Bag Beads (bagged and sealed)
What is NOT accepted?
- Polyethylene (PE) Foam Sheets
- Polyethylene (PE) Shapes/Blocks
- Polyethylene (PE) socks
- Plastic/Bubble Wrap
- Sticky tape and labels
- Paper and cardboard (paper and cardboard can go into your yellow-lidded recycling bin).
We collect lots of different materials and waste at our CRC. Residents can drop-off household items such as paint, computers, mobile phones, car batteries and more. For the full list of what you can drop off, visit our Community Recycling Centre page.
