Wednesday, May 31, 2023 will be the final day that Sedona Recycles, Inc. accepts Styrofoam.
We know this may be disappointing and create an inconvenience as much of northern Arizona has come to rely on us being one of the only entities in the state to accept this material.
There are many reasons that we have made this decision and we want you to understand what factors were considered. Like any business, we are constantly evaluating our operations, procedures, and sustainability. Styrofoam processing is not a viable or sustainable endeavor when it comes to our resources – use of energy, labor, etc. It costs the organization an absurd amount of money to receive, process, and ship the material, while the price of the material itself goes for basically pennies with vendors. Additionally, Polystyrene is a toxic material to produce which emits dangerous emissions and that combined with people driving vehicles from all around the state to our facility this contributes to the carbon footprint of an already resource intensive material to process.
What can you do moving forward?
Avoid buying products or purchasing from businesses that still use Styrofoam (and other unsustainable packaging). Use the power of voting with your dollar to redirect your purchasing to companies prioritizing sustainable packaging and environmental responsibility. Even better, reach out to companies you shop with and express your disappointment in their use of toxic, never-going-to-break-down material like Polystyrene, and ask if they have plans to improve their packaging in the near future.
We will continue accepting packing peanuts and egg cartons for reuse/exchange at our facility lobby during business hours.