Members of the glass recycling supply chain, along with local and state agency partners, are critical components to set up and facilitate many community and state glass recycling programs. Partnerships in the recycling arena are not necessarily limited to funding or capital investment for equipment or infrastructure, and often focus on recyclable materials purchasing agreements, as well as steady end markets for glass recyclables.

Two recent examples that are models for how partnerships are key to glass recycling success can be found in Ohio and Colorado. The Ohio facility is a recent renovation to improve recycled glass quality, and the facility in Colorado is a new glass processing plant that will significantly boost the amount of recycled glass processed and collected in the state.

Rumpke Ramps up Quality in Ohio

At the end of 2016, Rumpke Waste & Recycling began to process recycled glass through a $1 million renovation at its processing facility in Dayton, Ohio. The Rumpke facility added new sorting conveyors, along with an enhanced dust collection system and technology to remove fines material from the glass. The investment and efficiencies made by Rumpke will allow the company to process and clean over 60,000 tons of recycled glass annually, with some glass coming in from Kentucky and Indiana.

Leveraging its own significant capital investment, Rumpke worked with the City of Dayton and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to secure a $50,000 grant. Rumpke also works closely with in-state glass container manufacturing and fiberglass companies, which provide high-value manufacturing end markets.

Momentum Opens Facility in Colorado

In February, Momentum Recycling opened a new bottle-to-bottle glass recycling facility outside of Boulder, Colo. Momentum anticipates recycling an additional 49,000 tons of glass bottles annually, which would raise the state’s glass recycling rate from just below 7% to almost 22%. Last year 20,000 tons of glass was recycled statewide.

The company has partnered with some of the state’s largest solid waste and recycling companies, including Waste Management, Eco Cycle and Alpine Disposal, to secure recyclables. Two Colorado glass bottle manufacturing companies, Rocky Mountain Bottle Co. and Owens Illinois (O-I), serve as healthy end markets for the recycled glass that is cleaned and sorted at the Momentum facility.

Not satisfied with losing any of the glass delivered to its new plant, Momentum took advantage of a grant opportunity provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The company is using the $200,000 grant to identify secondary markets for the small percentage of glass “fines” not suitable for bottle-to-bottle recycling.
 

Any views or opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent those of Ceramic Industry, its staff, Editorial Advisory Board or BNP Media.