Beverly, Salem Set Styrofoam Collection Day At Salem Community Life Center

BEVERLY, MA — Salem and Beverly are partnering again to host a Styrofoam Collection Day on June 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Life Center on Bridge Street in Salem.

The drive-through event is open to residents of Salem and Beverly.

Casella, formerly Save That Stuff, will collect the material for recycling. The collection will focus on rigid white expanded polystyrene, commonly called Styrofoam. Residents should hold onto that material for the event because it cannot be recycled through curbside pickup.

Packaging peanuts and food service containers such as meat trays, clamshells and Styrofoam cups will not be accepted.

The event will also collect broken string lights and extension cords for recycling.

While Styrofoam cannot be recycled curbside, Casella has densifiers that can process the material for recycling.

Participants should stay in their vehicles for the whole event and have items ready to unload in a trunk, truck bed or hatchback. That setup is intended to keep the collection moving during the three-hour event.

The two-city collection gives Salem and Beverly residents a local option for disposing of a material that is often difficult to recycle.

Those looking for more information or who want to volunteer can contact Alisa Cherkasova at acherkasova@salem.com or 978-619-5672. They can also contact Ibrahim Lopez-Hernandez at ilopez@beverlyma.gov or 978-605-2323.