Students learn as they recycle

Sunset, Sept, 1991

Recyclable are only recyclable if they're being recycled. This small community north of Sacramento is putting that idea to the test with a pop pariah: polystyrene.

At Marysville school cafeterias, polystyrene utensils and trays are collected, rinsed, and bagged. The local waste hauler then takes them to a reprocessing plant near San Jose. The school district is keeping about 50 tons of polystyrene out of the waste stream each year, and students are learning early that recycling is an integral part of life in their community.

The success of the Marysville program makes it the most significant one in California; pilot programs are under way in other areas as well, encouraged by the plastics industry, which helps set up and promote them. Such programs don't exactly make money (unlike ones that recycle materials with more cash value, like aluminum); but in the long run, the cost of recycling the material should balance the cost of putting it in a landfill. The programs may eventually turn a small profit as collection, transfer, and reprocessing become more efficient.

Throwing plastics away: not a choice

Marysville no longer considers throwing materials away an option. It was student boycotts in neighboring Yuba City against "disposable" trays and utensils, after 1990's Earth Day, that got the district to recycle them in the first place. Economically, polystyrene was the best choice; now that it's being recycled, it's also correct environmentally.

Demand for the reprocessed polystyrene is growing. Spurred by consumer demand for products packaged with recycled materials and also by negative response to "throwaway" polystyrene packaging, manufacturers are helping to establish recycling facilities.

A recent study at the University of British Columia concluded that the process used to manufacture polystyrene plates and cups has much less adverse impact on the environment than the one used for making the same products out of paper--coated or uncoated. The study also points out that polystyrene is recyclable, whereas coated paper currently is not.

As children head back to school this month, the Marysville school district has expanded the program to 21 schools--preschool through high school. It might be a good time to get things going in your district; a recycling program could be a great first project for returning students.

If you're interested in setting up a similar program in your community, write to Walter Roberts, National Polystyrene Recycling Company, 1040 Masonic Ave., Suite 2, San Francisco 94117, or call (415) 553-8524.