North Carolina county receives FRC foam recycling grant

Cumberland County, North Carolina, the fifth-most populous county in the state with more than 336,000 residents, has received a $50,000 grant from the Foodservice Packaging Institute’s (FPI) Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC). The grant enables the recycling of foam polystyrene (PS), such as cups, plates, bowls, takeout containers, egg cartons and block packaging foam.

Based in Falls Church, Virginia, the FPI formed the FRC in 2014 to support increased recycling of foodservice packaging made from foam PS.

For Cumberland County, the FRC grant assisted with funding the purchase and installation of a foam densifier at the Ann Street landfill site located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. According to the county, the foam densifier will be used to compact foam products into blocks or ingots, of which the foam ingots will be sold to processors and manufactured into architectural molding and picture frames.

Residents can take their recyclables, including foam PS, to the Ann Street location or any of the county’s 16 container sites.

“This grant expands recycling opportunities for our residents while helping Cumberland County reduce waste and recover valuable materials,” Amanda Lee, Cumberland County general manager of natural resources, says. “It’s a practical, community-driven step toward a more sustainable future.”

The county says it has developed an outreach campaign to inform residents of foam recycling, including those in the communities of Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, Falcon, Eastover, Godwin, Hope Mills, Linden, Spring Lake, Stedmann and Wade. In addition, the county says it also is working with county-operated building staff to separate foodservice trays and containers for recycling.

Cumberland County is the 41st grant recipient to receive FRC funding since 2015. According to the FPI, more than 15 million additional residents in the U.S. and Canada can recycle foam PS because of FRC grants. The grant is made possible through contributions to the FRC, which includes members such as Americas Styrenics; Chick-fil-A; CKF Inc.; Dart Container Corp.; Dyne-A-Pak; Genpak; Ineos Styrolution America LLC;  Novolex; and Republic Plastics, among others.

“Cumberland County is the sixth community in North Carolina to receive a grant from FRC,” Natha Dempsey, president of the FPI, says. “We are thrilled to support efforts that enable more than 336,000 residents in the county, and over 3 million people statewide, to have access to recycling [PS] foam.”