along with the festival, burnaby residents have one more reason to celebrate as they can take their styrofoam packaging to the still creek recycling depot. a motion has been passed by burnaby council at the meeting held at monday night, which approved styrofoam recycling pilot project for the city for the duration of one year. residents of burnaby will be able to drop off maximum three cubic yards of expanded polystyrene, which is commonly known by the brand name styrofoam. dan johnston, who is the chairperson of the city&39s finance and civic development committee, provided a report on the issue to council. mr. johnston further said that big quantity of styrofoam was taken to the still creek depot. the committee wanted to take that extra step because it&39s the right thing to do as well as the public wants it. according to johnston, the city of burnaby noticed what other municipalities were doing and examined a way to make sure the styrofoam was turned into something usable. he further said that one of the delays in this area styrofoam was they wanted to ensure it didn&39t just get dumped and recycled, but recycled into a usable product. the city has planned to transport the styrofoam to foam only, a coquitlam company, which exports it to a company in china that uses it to make crown moulding and picture frames. it seemed like a more appropriate use as per johnston&rsquos point of view. he further mentioned that he didn&39t want to see the city follow the same road as municipalities that collected electronics that were then shipped overseas and dumped. johnston said that it was fooling the people and not recycling the waste. johnston is hoping that the pilot project becomes successful. this project is part of the city&39s participation with the metro vancouver&39s assurance to divert 70 per cent of landfill by 2015. there will be no charges for this useful service for residents. however, the city is thinking of charging 6 per cubic yard for businessmen, up to six cubic yards, which will be helpful to recover some of the cost. the program is expected to cost 30,000, out of which 5,000 will be coming from the 2012 operating budget. the rest will be covered from the city&39s operating contingency or surplus in year 2013. the city will assemble any kind of styrofoam, but preferably white styrofoam. this is because other kinds of styrofoam can be more difficult to recycle, than white, according to barry davis, who is the acting director of engineering. he further mentioned that, the program will become a constant part of the recycling depot only if it is a success. he said that, at the end of the project, the city will review any issues that arise, including expenses and how much the service is used. if the service is well subscribed, then surely for a service item, they would like to continue it. he added that if the pilot project is successful, the city may consider adjoining it to the city&39s pickup service. however, this will depend upon the several other factors, as well. according to him, it&rsquos a bit discomforting to pick it up due to its bulkiness. it does not mean that they would not be open it in the future. however, for now, they just want to complete the pilot project to see where they stand. kristian davis is the supervisor of new westminster&39s solid waste and recycling branch. he said that, in march, the city of new westminster started recycling its styrofoam with foam only and so far, the program is a success. they are getting in a good quality styrofoam material. from appliances packaging to meat trays, people are bringing in clean styrofoam. the quantity has steadily increased since from the project started in the midmarch. he said that currently, new westminster is taking approximately two loads per week to foam only. as per noel massey, the coowner of foam only, for about nine months, foam only is in the business, and the company is expanding very speedily. he further added that the company also receives styrofoam from squamish, whistler, and maple ridge. he said that the goal is to confirm that styrofoam stays out of the landfill. he mentioned that they will be able to expand the model that they have, and people should ensure educating themselves about what is recyclable and where does packaging go. he further said that the garbage is no more mere garbage. they are sorting everything they can. there is still the stuff in the pile that can be recycled and being honest the foam is one of the biggest ones on the quantity part of it. source of informationhttpwww.burnabynow.compackingchina7599678story.html
