Ridgewood Is First Bergen Town To Invest In Foam Recycling: Officials

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Ridgewood is the first Bergen County municipality to invest in foam recycling infrastructure, local officials said.

The village has purchased a machine that densifies foam packaging into recyclable material, and is the first local town to make the option available to residents, officials said.

Since implementation, residents have "whole-heartedly" embraced the program, the village's recycling coordinator Sean Hamlin said.

In fact, more than 7,000 pounds of EPS (often incorrectly referred to as the brand name Styrofoam) received and processed in 15 months, "resulting in a savings of over 5,500 cubic feet of landfill space," Hamlin said.

Foam products (non-biodegradable), Hamlin continued, fill up to 30% of landfill space, and "with enough being produced daily to circle the planet several times, the potential for major ecological impact is great."

"Landfills are fast becoming full," he said. "With the purchase of our densifier, we are able to transform foam into a product that can be recycled many times over its lifespan."

The densifier, purchased from Foam Cycle — which purports to be the first patent-pending foam recycling system —, shreds the material, heats it and forces it back out, removing 95% of the air. The resulting material is then sold to a New Jersey manufacturer to be recycled into decorative molding and trim.

The only requirements are that residents stick to recycling rigid foam packaging in block or sheet form (no peanuts or food trays) and that it is white, clean, dry, and free of labels and tape.

"Please help Ridgewood in its efforts to divert this dangerous material away from landfills and into homes as something new, and recyclable," the recycling coordinator said.

In 2022, Ridgewood was honored as a recycling leader through an award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, in the "Government" category, Patch reported.