You look on the bottom of your cup and there it is…the universal recycling sign with a number 6 in the middle. “Great”, you think, “I can toss this in the recycle bin”. MAYBE NOT. All plastics are labeled, however, not all are accepted from your local recycling company.
Polystyrene, or Styrofoam, is not recycled in all areas of the country. Part of that reason is that much of the Styrofoam we use is contaminated with food or drink. When Styrofoam cannot be recycled it is thrown into a trash can and sent to live in a landfill. The biggest issue with this is that polystyrene does not break down at all. And, although polystyrene only comprises about 2% of the total municipal solid waste stream by weight, it comprises roughly 30% of the total volume in the landfill due to it excessive use in packaging.
Check with your local provider to see if they accept plastic #6. If not, we recommend using another plastic option that can be recycled!