You can recycle just about everything these days. One material not accepted by Airdrie's Eastside Recycle Depot, or any other facility in the area, is styrofoam. So, we keep tossing the spongy trays from the meat we buy along with those restaurant containers into the trash. Susan Grimm of the City's depot says they looked into the possibility of accepting styrofoam but found they can't really turn it into anything useable.

Grimm feels we need to start making the big companies accountable for having to do something with the end product. That said, she adds that some are trying, by way of finding alternative packaging like cardboard corners instead of styrofoam.

The Cochrane recycle depot accepts styrofoam but only the dense, heavy type used to pack electronics. Health issues become a concern if they were to accept the lighter variety used for meat and food packaging.