A new grant from the Foam Recycling Coalition will help a Quebec company capture more expanded polystyrene packaging for recycling.
The $49,250 grant helps Gaudreau Environnement of Victoriaville, Quebec, place a focus on EPS. The company expects to increase curbside collection and processing of post-consumer EPS packaging to about 25 tons per year.
Materials collected will include food service and bulky packaging, the coalition indicated.
"Waste companies like Gaudreau Environnement provide the processing we need to help increase foam recycling across North America," said Lynn Dyer, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, said in a statement.
The Institute houses the Foam Recycling Coalition.
"This grant money is central to Gaudreau's strategy to increase its diversion rate, and these efforts mean valuable materials can be recycled in the communities served instead of going to the landfill," Dyer said.
The project is expected to begin in April.
"We are focused on processing additional materials, including foam polystyrene packaging. With a new densifier, it will assist with the viability of processing these new materials and efficiently shipping them to end markets in our region," said Nicholas Gaudreau, director of Gaudreau Environnement, in a statement.
The company already made connections in both Quebec and Ontario with other companies that will process the EPS after Gaudreau densifies the material.