Thurston County is ending its plastic foam recycling program. Here’s why

The Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center in Lacey will suspend its plastic foam recycling program and close its processing facility starting Feb. 28, the Public Works department announced on Monday.

The change is due to a state law that recently went into effect, prohibiting the sale of certain types of plastic foam products, according to a news release from the department.

The county will be looking for new ways to recycle plastic foam, but until a new vendor is found, all Styrofoam and other plastic foam products must be placed in the garbage.

The department said it will notify residents of Thurston County if a new recycling option becomes available, as it is committed to continuing the recycling program.

For more information, contact Thurston County Solid Waste at 360-867-2491 or ThurstonSolidWaste@co.thurston.wa.us.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription