JB Team Launches Styrofoam Recycling Project

Five Styrofoam collection bins will be placed throughout the county in the coming week including one in Barnesville.  

By Bruce Yarnall, Barnesville Area News

STEUBENVILLE – Officials of the Jefferson Belmont Regional Solid Waste Authority/AKA JB Green Team celebrated Earth Day 2025 announcing the launch of the first facility in the region to accept Styrofoam products for recycling.

In Belmont County, five heavily used locations will receive the collection bins including the one in Barnesville on the parking lot of AMfg Labs (formerly 5Bs) between East South and Mill streets, according to Belmont County coordinator Mark McVey.

The bins should be in place within the next week McVey shared. 

If successful, McVey said, JB hopes to double the collection bins in the county in the future.    

The foam that surrounds many shipped packages, takeout dinners, foam plates, cups, and even egg cartons are made of polystyrene, a product that is 98% air and 2% plastic. 

The local JB Team has purchased the first densifier in the state of Ohio that will condense the foam down to a solid plastic block.

Foam Cycle is a unique recycling company pioneering a closed-loop recycling system to help solve the “foam problem.”.

Foam packaging and food service Foam (aka Styrofoam) is one of the most plentiful yet least recycled plastics in existence today.

Foam Cycle is a patented foam collection, densifying, and repurposing system designed to be placed at outdoor city, town, and municipal recycling drop-off centers. Foam Cycle systems can be found operating successfully in several states throughout the country, tackling a global issue on a local level.

The new condensed plastic can be reused to make a variety of new products including insulation for houses and buildings.

Polystyrene, the plastic used in Styrofoam, can be recycled many times over effectively making it a green product.

In addition to launching Styrofoam collection, the JB Green Team has launched a new app that can downloaded to smartphones that will provide the location of all collection bins. Search by “JBG” or “JB Green Team” into the phone’s  APP store. There is no cost for the download.

To read more about the Foam Cycle System, visit the firm’s website here.