Sorted through three big bags worth of styrofoam that my family and I (mostly me) have been saving for a long time today. I know it’s an accumulation of many months, maybe about one or two years’ worth of styrofoam, but it really did make me think about the amount of waste we produce that ultimately ends up in the landfill — waste that can be diverted or replaced for more sustainable options. I mean, how many take-out containers are styrofoam? Is that really necessary? There are biodegradable containers available, and yet many restaurants still use hard-to-recycle styrofoam instead (it’s probably less expensive, right?). The other thing I noticed is that a lot of styrofoam we have surprisingly comes from other kinds of product packaging — fruits, noodles, meats. I remember watching a news report about a grocery store in Vancouver that tries to eliminate waste in their packaging, plastic and styrofoam, mostly, and I thought it was a great idea. I wish we had more places like that around.
In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to settle for hoarding my stupid styrofoam until the next trip to the Burnaby Waste Depot.
aaron's random musings 