Dear Karen,
What a good deed! Sounds like you're getting a jump on making Santa's "nice" list for this coming new year — as well as Hanukkah Harry's, and Kwanzaa Kurt's. We are indeed doing Styrofoam collection events again.
In fact, all you recyclers were so good at following our specifications for Styrofoam last time that we're feeling confident in offering regular collections twice a year — once in January to handle the post-holiday glut, and once in August.
At this time we are not offering collections year-round because of the high costs of the program. Because there are so many folks who have Styrofoam this time of year, it is an excellent and very thoughtful New Year's gift to consolidate trips and volunteer to bring in loads for many.
It is also a good idea to be sure of the guidelines to prevent an unnecessary trip to the recycling center with a material we cannot accept. So here are the guidelines and collection dates:
We'll accept No. 6 Block Styrofoam only, like the kind used to pack computers, televisions, etc. No peanuts, food packaging (like cups, meat trays or clamshells), bubble wrap or Styrofoam with a number other than a 6 will be accepted. Styrofoam must be clean, dry and have no tape.
We have three collection events planned:
From Jan. 17 through 22, we will take block Styrofoam at the Eco-Cycle/City of Boulder Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM). The center is located at 5030 "old" Pearl and open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
On Jan. 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., McStain Neighborhoods is sponsoring a collection of block Styrofoam at the new Eco-Cycle Drop-off Center in the City of Longmont at 140 Martin St.
On Saturday, Jan. 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., McStain Neighborhoods is also sponsoring a third one-day collection at the Louisville/Lafayette drop-off center (at the corner of Highway 42 and Pine Street).
While you're in the business of collecting recyclables for other people, you might want to include non-reusable wrapping paper. Wrapping paper may temporarily be recycled in the "Paperboard" bins through the month of January at four different locations: the Longmont drop-off center, the Boulder County Recycling Center at 1901 63rd Street in Boulder, the Broomfield drop-off center at 225 Commerce Street, and the Louisville drop-off center.
Please note that metallic wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, etc. are not recyclable. Wrapping paper is not accepted at the curb. It's normally a contaminant due to the high ratio of ink and clay to paper, so this is a seasonal gift to you from these participating communities.
To learn more about recycling special holiday items, including trees, holiday light strings, Styrofoam peanuts, etc., see our holiday recycling guide (also available at drop-off centers).
If you want to keep up the good behavior, (remember, President's Day is just around the corner and Abe and George are watching you, too), you can sign up to receive an e-mail alert for upcoming special collection events and then you'll always be in the know.
