Current Trends in Glass

Recycling

Sage ParkSustainability Specialist/Solid Waste PlannerDepartment of Ecology, Central Regional Office509-454-7863sueb461@ecy.wa.gov

• Americans generated 12.5 million tons of glass in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream in 2003.

• About 22 percent of the 10.9 million tons of container glass was recovered for recycling.

• Recovery increased from 750,000 tons in 1980 to more than 2.4 million tons in 2001.

• Soft drink, beer, food, wine, and liquor containers represent the largest source of glass generated and recovered for recycling.

Glass Recycling Facts

- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/glass.htm, May 17, 2005

Glass Recycling is Declining

• In 2000, the U.S. EPA estimated that the the beverage glass recycling rate was 25%.

• There’s an increasing trend in landfilling glass, either by throwing it away or using it as daily cover.

Jenny Gitlitz, Are bottle bills still relevant, Resource Recycling, September 2004

Washington State Glass Recycling 1986 - 2003

-

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

1986

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

To

ns

Why the decline?

• Increased away-from-home consumption

• Stagnant scrap prices

• Decreased emphasis on recycling by government and the media

• Increase in use of PETE as a beverage container

- Jenny Gitlitz, Are bottle bills still relevant, Resource Recycling, September 2004

Glass Collection Issues

•Curbside Collection

•Drop Box

•Weight of glass

•Distance to markets

•Market price of glass

Commodity Prices

• Post Consumer Glass is $6.00/ton

• Cardboard is $45.00/ton

• Newspaper is $34.00/ton

• Baled aluminum cans is $0.65/lb.

Recycling Manager, http://grn.com/grn/prices/rm-prices.htm, October 26, 2005

Types of Glass Recycling

• Closed Loop – Glass to Glass

• Open Loop

– Glass to aggregate

End Uses of Pulverized Glass• Roadbed material• Filter sand for septic systems/pools• Playground sand• Sidewalk/driveway additive• Backfill• Drainage medium• Landscape material• Paint additive• Hybridized cement• Aggregate in stucco finishes• Flux in ceramic tiles• Sand blasting material• Glass products such as fiberglass, marbles , and glass beads• Lawn ornaments, stepping stones, and retaining wall blocks

- Glass Recycling In Montana, Montana Public Interest Research Group, May 2004

Picture provided by University of New Hampshire

Technology Transfer Center

Benefits of Using Glass Locally

• Replaces resources which require excavation

• Reduces energy demand from extracting and transporting raw material for construction projects

• Reduces air and water pollution associated with excavating raw materials

• Conserves energy used in transporting glass to market

• Reduces glass waste entering the landfill

- Reusing and Recycling Glass in Manitoba, Manitoba Product Stewardship Council 2000

Costs of Using Glass Locally

• Does not reduce resources and energy in manufacturing new glass containers

• Energy required to crush the glass for local use

• Energy, equipment and labor resources to blend aggregate with other aggregate for some application

- Reusing and Recycling Glass in Manitoba, Manitoba Product Stewardship Council 2000

What’s a Community to Do?

Communities are working together to divert glass from landfills using

innovative solutions.

What communities you ask ?

• Manitoba, Canada City of Winnipeg and Town of Pilot Mound and Village of Crystal City

• Lewis and Clark County, Montana

• Twisp, Washington

(and later in the day Stevens County

and Whitman County)

• St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Oregon

Where is Manitoba?

Local Glass Use in Manitoba Communities

• City of Winnipeg – Glass used at the Brady Road landfill site as a road base– Use heavy equipment to crush glass onsite, then cover it with

gravel

• Town of Pilot Mound and Village of Crystal City – Glass is collected through community recycling programs and

then crushed into coarse sand using a glass crusher– The crushed glass is used around town for landscaping– Golf course uses it on paths and around the base of trees– Keeps dust down on pathways better as compared to gravel

- Reusing and Recycling Glass in Manitoba, Manitoba Product Stewardship Council 2000

Local Glass Use in Montana

• Lewis and Clark County– Has had a glass recycling program for approximately 10 years– Glass collected by Headwaters Recycling Cooperative and

through the City of Helena Transfer station– Glass collected by Headwaters is sold to Ash Grove Cement and

Holcim Cement – Glass collected at the transfer station is used by Ash Grove

Cement Company as 2.5% of the silica content for the cement produced.

– Ash Grove uses 250 tons of glass per year– Last fiscal year, there was a stockpile of 400 tons because

Holcim cut back on the amount of glass they’re accepting

- Glass Recycling in Montana, Montana Public Interest Research Group, May 2004

Local Glass Use in Washington State

• Methow Recycles – Twisp, WA– Purchased a glass crusher in 2002 and installed it in 2003– Since installation they have invested an additional:

• $840 in improvements• spent $3,966 on repairs• $5,281 on payroll related to the glass machine

– Charge $10.00/ton of sand - revenues from the sand for the same period were $757.50.

– Machine is currently down due to additional problems– Each apple bin full of glass costs $15.00 to process– Currently are not collecting glass

Methow Recycles, http://www.methowrecycles.org/index.php

Aurora Glass

– Operated by St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Oregon

– Recycle old windows and other waste glass previously without a recycling avenue

– All profits from Aurora are returned to the community in the form of assistance for homeless and low-income people through emergency services, housing, jobs, training, and other charitable

endeavors.

http://www.auroraglass.org

Suggestions for Creating a Glass to Aggregate Program in Your Area

• Have an end use!!!!

• Be creative

• Find Partners

• Proper Equipment is Essential

• Know the cost (both monetary and environmental) of the project before you get started

• Have a plan to maintain the program