Media Contact:
Steve Caulk
303-410-4971
srcaulk@proconnectpr.com
Alpine Waste & Recycling Tackles Industry’s ‘Last Frontier’
Denver’s environmental leader now accepting ‘foam’
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (Oct. 26, 2015) ̶ Alpine Waste & Recycling has become the first
recycling company in the Denver area to begin accepting polystyrene foam, long the bane of
environmentalists everywhere.
For decades, the material commonly known under its trademarked commercial moniker of
Styrofoam has confounded recyclers who have wrestled with its lightweight, space-consuming
composition. Thanks to a $45,000 grant from the Foodservice Packaging Institute and thanks to
new technology, Alpine Waste now has a machine in place that compresses the foam into bricks,
making it more commercially feasible to transport and recycle in bulk.
The installation of the new machinery was part of the recent expansion and upgrade of the
company’s Altogether Recycling Plant in South Adams County. That expansion, with all new
Machinex equipment, increased the plant’s flow-through capacity by 150 percent.
The foam eligible for recycling includes packaging materials such as egg cartons, meat trays and
“take-home” containers. Alpine took delivery of its new INTCO machinery in late August and
spent recent weeks installing, testing and integrating it into the Altogether Recycling singlestream process. Alpine has been connecting with local businesses who have an abundance of
foam packaging material that they want to try to divert from landfills.
“This foam material has caused problems in the waste-processing industry because it takes up so
much space in landfills and it take so long to degrade,” said John Griffith, president of Alpine
Waste & Recycling. “We’re thrilled to lead the way in Colorado’s efforts to address this
problem.”
He said whereas cardboard can degrade in about two months in the soil, a typical foam coffee
cup will require centuries to degrade, which is why it’s important to try to keep this material out
of the landfill.
About Alpine Waste & Recycling
Alpine Waste & Recycling is the largest privately held commercial waste, recycling and compost
collection company in Colorado. Founded in 1999 as a single-truck operation, Alpine Waste is
now among the Denver Business Journal’s Top 100 private companies in the Denver area. With
more than 90 trucks and more than 200 employees, Alpine handles 400,000-plus tons of waste,
compost and recycle products per year. In 2009, the Colorado Association for Recycling named
Alpine as the state’s most outstanding business for its recycling/diversion program (Altogether
Recycling™). In 2008 and 2012, ColoradoBiz Magazine named Alpine as the state’s Top
Company (Service Category) and Top Company Finalist, respectively; and in 2010 named
Alpine as a “Colorado Company to Watch.” Commerce City named Alpine as its 2010 Small
Business of the Year; and the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce named Alpine in 2011 as a
Finalist for the Green Company of the Year Award. In 2013, Alpine was named as the recipient
of the ACG’s Emerging Growth Award. Information: 303-744-9881, or go to
www.alpinewaste.com.