The Edmond Sun

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December 5, 2011

Goodwill adds Styrofoam to its recyclables

Special to The Sun

OKLA. CITY — Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma can now take all your household recyclables, along with your gently used goods, and turn them into job and skills training for people with disabilities and disadvantages.

Along with aluminum, metal, glass, cardboard and plastic, Goodwill is now one of the few organizations that can recycle Styrofoam. Through a donation from the ONEOK Foundation, Goodwill has purchased a Styrofoam densifying machine. The machine removes air from Styrofoam products and condenses it into a lightweight plastic material that can then be sold back to plastic manufactures for reuse.

“We are thrilled to have a community partner like ONEOK to help support our mission and goal of less landfill usage. We have always been in the business of recycling goods, but being able to recycle Styrofoam will have a huge positive impact toward our efforts and hopefully, we can raise awareness in central Oklahoma and provide people and businesses more opportunities to recycle with us,” said CEO Chris Daniels.

GICO currently operates nine stores and 14 attended donation centers and accepts Styrofoam and recyclables at all locations. Recyclables do not have to be sorted into categories, but do need to be clean.

“We are pleased to partner with Goodwill in its efforts to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable Styrofoam products that are currently placed into landfills,” said John W. Gibson, ONEOK chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The new Styrofoam densifier will enable Goodwill to not only reduce the amount of waste in our landfills, but also to create new jobs for their clients — an especially important fact given today’s economic climate.”

The recyclables received by GICO are used in hands-on work for the Recycle Technician Training program, teaching students the importance of recycling and proper categorization. The materials are then recycled through various vendors across the state and country.

Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and United Way partner agency. The GICO mission is to enhance to quality of life for individuals with disabilities and disadvantages through the power of work. GICO has been serving Oklahoma since 1936 and currently employs more than 500 people.

 

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