Colorado town gets dedicated glass recycling site

Denver-based glass recycling processor Clear Intentions has installed a glass-only collection bin at the South Canyon Landfill’s recycling drop-off center in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, according to a report in The Glenwood Springs Post Independent.

Glass collection is not new to the South Canyon Landfill—the city had been collecting it via single stream. However, glass recycling was limited because of the commingled collection, with glass breaking into smaller pieces compared with other materials in the bin, including aluminum and plastic, and becoming contamination rather than recoverable for recycling, the article reports.

The new Clear Intentions bin has allowed for separate glass collection. Accepted items include glass beverage containers, including all colors of beer, wine and liquor bottles; drinking glasses, including wine glasses; and jars and containers. Prohibited items include lids, ceramic cups or dishes, Pyrex or cookware, mirrors, windows, lightbulbs, windshields and plastics bags or trash.

South Canyon Landfill Manager King Lloyd told the Post Independent that “about 80 percent of what ended up in the commingled bins was glass. With curbside, single-stream services, he said that about 20 to 30 percent of what’s intended to be recycled can end up in the landfill due to contamination,” the article reports.

In addition to a cleaner glass stream, the new bin will help to lower landfill fees, Lloyd told the newspaper. The paper encouraged local readers who have curbside recycling services to bypass these services and instead drop off their glass containers at the South Canyon Landfill.

“We need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along in this changing world to repurpose and recycle,” Lloyd told the newspaper. “And it’s keeping our operating costs down.”

Collected glass will be processed and used within Colorado, the article notes.

Clear Intentions offers glass recycling services and recycled glass products to a broad range of industries, including food and entertainment, municipalities, construction, infrastructure and manufacturing.