Glass is a pain!?! Yes, I said what I said.

We are a company born from the goal and desire to recycle every item possible. We are not a waste company that also handles recyclables. During dual-stream collection days, we had four glass bins and sorted the glass by color. The mixed color bin (made up of the materials that broke during sorting and transit) was difficult to consistently move or find a "home" for but the other bins were generally manageable. This method of handling the glass was more manually intensive and harder on the equipment directly processing the containers but the paper was collected separately and the process and material remained free of glass contamination. 

Fast forward to single stream collection, all material being collected in one vehicle, compacted and dumped on our tipping floor. Most of the glass arrives broken from transport and has completely infiltrated every inch of the load. On especially wet and snowy days the glass has become "glitter" on clumps of waded paper. (Imagine de glittering after an overzealous little one has completed a sparkly project - that stuff is present for months.)The paper sorting equipment (and staff) is no longer exempt from the exponentially faster wear and tear associated with processing glass and it now impacts the entire process. 

To deal with glass and not cut it from the recycling program, it must be removed as early in the process as possible. Since a majority is already broken we break the remaining intact bottles and remove them through a "fines" screen. In doing this all the glass colors are mixed and any non-glass "fines" contaminate the glass material. Non-glass fines are small items like bottle caps, small shredded paper, straws, small pieces of plastic, aluminum tabs, etc. This mixed-color glass (along with the "other" fines) now needs to be processed. A majority of glass manufacturers are not able or at times willing to utilize mixed color, material recovery grade glass. The amount of processing and equipment destruction involved in handling and sorting the glass to this point is costly and glass manufacturers (at least near us) are not willing to pay for the material. In addition to a low value, they also have extremely tight tolerance related to contamination. Contamination in the glass is typically identified as ceramics, plastic, metal, etc.  Additionally,  the cost to transport it to them is pricey. Shipping the material at a loss (slightly less or almost equal to a landfill tipping fee) to potentially have it rejected due to a 1% ceramic contamination is just not a feasible option. Yes, there is technology available to optically sort glass except that equipment comes with a very large price tag for a product that doesn't have a reciprocal value, even when cleaned up. 

So now what? We decided to process the glass material, remove as much contamination as possible, and resize it to be used for sand mound septic systems, trenching, reed beds, etc. We know it's not recycling but we really have no other sound alternatives. 

So what's the point of writing this? Frustration. 

I continue to see post after post about how evil plastic is. "It" is contaminating our environment and "it" should be banned. People have suggested going back to good old-fashioned glass bottles because they are endlessly recyclable and can be made into new bottles infinitely. This all makes great sense, except, please reread the above. We have ongoing, consistent markets for PET, HDPE, and PP bottles. When that material is brought to our facility we can segregate, quality sort, and sell it to become a new product. Based on how much of the industry is currently handling glass, we see things a little differently. Glass recycling needs to be revamped. Sure, in theory, it is a very eco-friendly material, but in practice, it is not.  Plastic manufacturers are taking heat because a desirable item is failing to be consistently placed in the recycling bin by capable yet seemingly unwilling consumers. It is much quieter on the glass manufacturer front - they aren't being harassed about their footprint and effect on our planet. Yet the recycling process for this material needs to be revised, even when the consumer follows recycling instructions.