Styrofoam Recycling

Mar 15

In collaboration with the The Norwich Solid Waste Committee, Sustainable Hanover’s Waste Reduction/Recycling Team held its second annual Styrofoam Collection on January 27, 2024 at the Richmond Middle School. It was, by many measures, a great success.

Two full truckloads of styrofoam were sent to the Gilford Recycling Center. These trucks were filled with 38 huge bags of styrofoam, nearly a 40% increase over last year (29 bags).

A total of 235 cars delivered styrofoam to our collection site (vs. 141 last year). Cars from Hanover (93), Norwich (66) and Lebanon (28) made up 80% of this total. Cars from twenty other towns comprised the remaining 20%. By UV styrofoam collection standards, 235 is a big number!

The public was generous in expressing their appreciation for the event, donating $1,455 on site. This more than covered expenses for renting trucks and recycling the holiday lights. Unspent funds will support future waste reduction/recycling activities.

Finally, many community organizations contributed to the success of this event. The SAU generously made available the Richmond Middle School as a site for this collection. Its next door neighbor, Sheridan Press, provided parking spots for our more than thirty volunteers. Sustainable Hanover and the Hanover Rotary sent volunteers for the second time. Volunteers from the Norwich Solid Waste Committee and the Hanover Lions Club joined in for the first time.

Many thanks to everyone for the well organized, productive, and fun morning!