This unique business in Gilberts, Illinois is dedicated to recovery and recycling of full, partially filled and empty aerosol paint cylinders. Conceived conceptually over ten years ago, they launched earlier this year after nearly a decade of fine-tuning through a pilot program. They offer service to businesses and communities.

Each container is disassembled to recover the metal canister, plastic nozzle, cap and paint. The paint is incinerated through a separate hazardous waste contractor. Flat Can Recycling works with some retailers that charge customers per can for the recycling service. In this situation, the store determines the price and pays Flat Can Recycling a set fee. Generally consumers pay $1 per can. To date, Flat Can Recycling has recycled 226,997 cans and 10,675 pounds of plastic caps and have responsibly disposed of 3,689 gallons of residual paint.

Flat Can Recycling stated “As a new member of the Illinois Recycling Foundation, we look forward to benefiting from their resources, industry events and access to their large network of leaders in the recycling space. We’re proud to display the IRA/IRF logo on our website because of what it represents—a commitment to protecting the environment and being part of something bigger.”

Please contact Flat Can Recycling regarding a collection event for your community or service for your business. https://www.flatcanrecycling.com/

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After starting a single stream program in 2014, serving nearly 123,000 households, foam tonnage has continually increased. On average, the MRF processes 200 to 300 tons of recyclables per day and has a contamination rate as low as 15%-18%. Like most of us in Illinois, the public expressed interest in foam recycling however curbside collection was not an option. The county’s drop-off recycling facility currently accepts corrugate cardboard, mixed paper, #3-#7 plastics, steel and aluminum. Now that the new foam densifier is installed the facility can accept foam polystyrene materials.

The grant is made possible through contributions to the Foam Recycling Coalition which focuses exclusively on increased recycling of post-consumer foam polystyrene. St. Lucie County is the 16^th grant recipient to receive FRC funding since 2015. Over 4 million additional residents in the U.S. and Canada can recycle foam as a result of FRC grants. To learn more about foam recycling, read about previous grant recipients or apply for a grant, visit www.recyclefoam.org 

The Illinois Recycling Foundation recognizes that we have members with different needs. We want to do more to address their concerns with targeted meetings on specific topics. Please consider joining one of these committees today to be part of discussion. Email us at [email protected] with your committee interest.

We also welcome members to join our Communications Committee, Conference Committee, Events Committee and Grants Committee. Full committee descriptions are available here.

A new 2021 federal administration more focused on environmental issues may continue to reiterate that recycling and recycled products play an important role in our economy and have significant positive impacts on jobs, wages and tax collections. The US EPA developed a waste input-output (WIO) model to provide an improved analytical framework for better understanding the contributions of recycling to the U.S. economy. Review key findings of the 2020 REI report.

The Recycling Partnership announced it is providing four grants to Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the United States that will improve and increase sortation of polypropylene and support targeted consumer education efforts.

Seventeen cities have been recipients of grants for increasing foam polystyrene recycling.