No. 6 plastic, foam recycling efforts being made on West Island

Before you toss that Styrofoam plate or plastic cup into the trash, read this.

Some municipalities on the island of Montreal are looking at ways ofrecycling the previously unrecyclable No. 6 plasticand are holding special collection days as part of it.

Over the weekend, residents in Pointe-Claire were invited to drop off itemsmade of No. 6 rigidpolystyrene and polystyrene foam at the local eco-centre. Residents who missed it this weekend will have another chance on Oct. 3.

Beaconsfield also held a polystyrene collection recently, allowing the town to recycle 230 kilograms of the stuff.

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No. 6 plastics can be identified by a triangle with the number six in the centre of it. The material is commonly used by grocery stores to pack raw meat and other produce, but it's generally not accepted by Quebec's recycling programs.

In Montreal, people who want to recycle No. 6 plastic products have to drop them off at the eco-centrein LaSalle.

Canadian Plastics Industry Association spokesman Stephen Tramley said he doesn't understand why cities are reluctant to recycle No. 6 plastics.

"Polystyrene and polystyrene foam, it's far less heavy in comparison to cardboard. It's between two and five times lighter," he said.

Why can't I put it in the recycling bin?

It's estimated that about 15 per cent of thingsMontrealersput in their recycling bin cannot actually be recycled.

According to an article onSmithsonian.com, many cities choose not to recycle No. 6 plastic because it was previously bulky to transport and hard to clean the material absorbs dirt and contaminants easily and most recycling facilities don't bother withdeep cleaning.

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However,PhilipBeauchesne of Polyform, a Granby-basedplastic-recycling company, said things are slowly changing.

He said cities are starting to realize recycling No. 6 plastic could be worth their while, considering how commonly used products made of the material are.

"It's more a cultural change we want to instill in cities and citizens," Beauchesne said.