If you’re searching for free Styrofoam, I’ll tell you about some of the best places to get some.
Perhaps you want Styrofoam for:
- Insulating your home
- Keeping drinks cool or warm
- Packing supplies
- Arts and crafts projects
- Or other reasons!
Regardless, you don’t feel like spending money — or you’re on a tight budget — but need Styrofoam ASAP.
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Don’t fret because I’ve got you covered.
Before I go on, I would like to share why Styrofoam (also known as Expanded Polystyrene) makes a good insulator.
Its cellular composition allows air to become trapped, reducing heat transfer; therefore, it regulates temperature stability to guard against extreme heat or cold.
Okay, enough with the science lesson; let’s move on to the leads!
Table of Contents
How to Get Free Styrofoam Near Me
Use the following ways to obtain Styrofoam without spending a dime.
1. Furniture stores
A furniture store typically has plenty of Styrofoam sheets, bricks, and other forms warehoused away somewhere.
Feel free to stop by a mom-and-pop store or a chain like Ashley Furniture and ask the owner/manager to take the stuff off their hands.
2. Pharmacies
Since pharmacies bring in and store prescription medicine until patients pick them up, they’re bound to have some excess Styrofoam lying around.
Check your nearest Walgreens or CVS and inquire about any leftover Styrofoam they might have.
3. Universities
A university is likely the last place one would find Styrofoam.
However, I mention this lead because one department frequently uses them: the biology department.
Why?
Well, to carry live (and dead) specimens. (During my short-lived college days, I would participate in dissections, and I even saw stuffed animal heads near the classrooms.)
This method works best if you’re a biology major or a professor.
But even if you’re not associated with said school, you could try it.
4. Craigslist
Though Craigslist is known for being an e-commerce/job ad site, it’s also where you’ll find free things, especially Styrofoam.
Go to the “For sale” section of your local Craigslist, click “free,” and look for any individuals or businesses eager to give away Styrofoam.
5. Seafood restaurants
Seafood restaurants use Styrofoam boxes to carry and unpack lobsters, shrimp, and other sea creatures they plan to make into lunch or dinner.
Perhaps you could request some free Styrofoam before or after your meal at your favorite seafood spot.
6. Freecycle
Freecycle is a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving/receiving free items.
Search for your nearest town group by entering your town, state, or region into the search bar on the Find a Town page, or use Google Maps to click on the balloon closest to your area.
Once you find it, sign up and look for any locals willing to lend you their Styrofoam products.
7. Grocery stores/supermarkets
Because grocery stores and supermarkets have so many goods to sell, they’re likely to possess some leftover packaging materials (i.e., Styrofoam).
Consider asking for some Styrofoam on your next shopping errand.
8. Neighborhood
Some neighborhood residents have close ties with each other and will barter practically anything.
If you know your neighbors well, knock on their doors and ask if they have any Styrofoam to spare.
But what if you don’t know them very well?
You could either walk down your block and look for any Styrofoam pieces placed on people’s front lawns or create an ad on Nextdoor.
9. Your Home
Want to know where to get free Styrofoam without going anywhere or posting an online ad?
Look hard enough, and you might find it in your own apartment or house.
Perhaps you have some stashed away in your garage, attic, closet, or basement.
You might even have a box or sheet pushed aside in a corner of your bedroom, and you stopped paying attention to it for a while until you realized you needed it.
Spruce up your home to see if you come across any Styrofoam “treasures.” (This also frees up space if your place is overdue for a good housekeeping.)
Save Money and Get Styrofoam for Free
Are you moving, working on a DIY project, or something else?
Then begin snagging some free Styrofoam through one or more of the above techniques.
