Up to $50,000 in grants available to increase polystyrene recycling in the U.S.

The Foodservice Packaging Institute's Foam Recycling Coalition has opened its grant program for 2025, offering opportunities to expand foam polystyrene recycling across the U.S. 

The grant program has allowed more than 13 million additional residents to recycle foam polystyrene items like cups, egg cartons, takeout containers, and packaging materials. Facility operators, non-profits, and solid waste authorities are encouraged to apply for grants of up to $50,000 to establish or enhance foam polystyrene recycling in local communities.

The 2025 application period is open 

Beginning on April 15, 2025, the application period will officially open. Eligible entities must engage in operating a material recovery facility, manage residential curbside recycling programs, or manage a drop-off convenience site recycling program. 

Previous grant awardees used Foam Recycling Coalition funding to purchase equipment, including collection bins and foam densifiers, that aid in the efficient collection and on-site material preparation before shipping to processors and end markets. No cash match is required. However, additional costs by the grantee may be incurred for related items, such as site preparation, electrical infrastructure, freight, and other miscellaneous needs.

Previous recipient of the grant 

The Foam Recycling Coalition's 2024 grant recipient, Conigliaro Industries, operates a large-scale material recovery facility in Framingham, Massachusetts, that already accepts non-food-related polystyrene foam like packing peanuts, foam insulation, foam coolers, and other foam packaging. Conigliaro used the Foam Recycling Coalition grant to purchase a thermal densifier, allowing the facility to expand its acceptable foam materials to include used food service polystyrene such as cups, plates, clamshells, and school lunch trays.

"Conigliaro Industries already recycles 150 other materials including rigid plastics, foam plastics, paper, corrugated cardboard, rubber, metal, glass, and others," said Gregory Conigliaro, president of Conigliaro. "With the help of the Foam Recycling Coalition, we purchased the first major piece of equipment that will help us add used foodservice polystyrene to our accepted materials list. We will build up this line to include equipment that will wash and dry the polystyrene foam before melting it for recycling, further expanding our recycling capabilities."

Advancing foam recycling is an industry-wide effort

"With the right collection system and densifying equipment, recycling foam can be both efficient and cost-effective," said Natha Dempsey, president of the Foodservice Packaging Institute. "We are thrilled to provide grants to communities and organizations committed to expanding recycling efforts."

Grants are made possible through contributions to the Foam Recycling Coalition, which focuses exclusively on increased recycling of post-consumer foam polystyrene. Its members include Americas Styrenics; Chick-fil-A; CKF Inc.; Dart Container Corp.; Dyne-A-Pak; Genpak; INEOS Styrolution America LLC; Pactiv Evergreen; and Republic Plastics.