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More major cities dump glass recycling

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More major cities dump glass recycling

More major cities dump glass recycling

Add Alpharetta, GA and Sante Fe, NM to the growing list of cities that are removing glass recycling from their curbside collection programs. While some cities are dropping glass recycling altogether, Apharetta isn’t throwing in the towel on glass just yet.

The city is halting collection of glass from its single-stream curbside collection program in April. The reasons, according to the City Administrator, are just what you’d expect. Glass is hard to collect, sort, store and ship, which makes it unattractive (read: unprofitable) to incorporate into a single stream waste recycling program.

The city is asking its residents to chime in on what they want to do about their glass, however, and promises to work the results of a citywide survey into its long-term glass collection plan. The city has drafted three options for residents, and it’s asking them to identify their preferred course of action.

According to the city, Option A is to put glass in the trash. This option won’t sit well with people who value the idea of recycling materials. With Option A, residents would simply drop their glass containers in the trash and they would be landfilled, along with the rest of their non-recyclable garbage. The reality is that most glass that is currently collected in the city’s single-stream recycling program ends up in the landfill now. Glass containers are pulverized and used as “daily cover” on the surface of the dump to reduce odors and flyaway trash.

Option B provides a drop-off container collection area that residents could use as their time permits. Residents would store glass containers at home, and periodically take them to a centralized collection location. The city has not said what will become of the collected glass under this option.

Option C is the continuation of the curbside recycling program with a few modifications. Glass containers would be sorted into a separate bin by residents and set out at the curb on collection day. A separate truck would collect the glass containers. This option would add $36 per year to each household’s waste service bill.

The results of the survey will be presented to the Alpharetta City Council in April, and based on the findings, the City may modify its current glass collection plan.

One great way to reuse glass is to “upcycle” it with GlassPrimer™ Glass Paint. GlassPrimer™ glass paint is easy to use, looks great and comes in virtually any color. For more information about GlassPrimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site.

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Glass bottle-to-bottle recycling facility set to open

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Glass bottle-to-bottle recycling facility set to open

Colorado has taken another step forward in its effort to achieve zero-waste status. Later this month, Momentum Recycling, a Utah company, will open a new bottle-to-bottle recycling plant. The plant will take in container glass and offer a high-quality source for new containers for local bottle manufacturers.

The facility hopes to divert some of the state’s more than 300,000 tons of container glass that currently gets routed to the landfill. Colorado does not have a deposit law on bottles, which means that the state’s average glass recycling rates are on the low end of the spectrum. States with container deposits recycle as much as 60 percent of the container glass in their waste streams. By comparison, Colorado recycles less than 25% of its container glass today. Read more

Cities struggle to cope with glass recycling

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Cities struggle to cope with glass recycling

Cities struggle to cope with glass recycling

If you want to know about the status of glass recycling in the United States, some quick Internet searching will allow you to create a fairly long list of municipalities that have dumped curbside recycling of glass. Glass is easily one of the most recyclable materials, and it costs less to recycle glass than it does to make new glass, so what’s the trouble with glass recycling?

The cost of transporting, sorting and storing recyclable glass adds a layer of complexity that most municipalities don’t want to (or can’t) deal with. Glass is heavy, which means it’s expensive to transport, and there is more supply than demand for glass, recycled glass and crushed glass, called cullet.

Anchorage, AK is one municipality that’s trying to change the outcome for much of the city’s glass containers. According to city workers, Anchorage – a city of just about 300,000 people – collects about 1,200 tons of glass continers each year. Like many other cities, they don’t allow curbside collection of glass. Anchorage doesn’t have a local reclamation facility, so it bundles its recyclables and sends them off to Washington State. Adding glass into the mix would add significant weight, which would increase transportation costs and diminish already-thin returns.

Instead, glass is collected in three aggregating facilities around the city and retained. The State of Alaska has recently permitted construction projects to use 100% crushed glass as backfill on water and sewer pipe projects, and it can be used as a backfill component for other construction projects. In addition, finely crushed glass can be used like sand to create traction on snow-covered walkways and parking lots.

Other cities like Knoxville, TN have just eliminated glass from their single-stream curbside recycling programs. According to city officials, glass collection is logistically difficult and much of the collected glass ends up being broken at their facility. Broken glass is hard to handle and can damage the sorting equipment that’s the backbone of a single-stream recycling program. In addition, it’s virtually impossible to find buyers for mixed-color glass.

Roswell, GA has agreed to pay its curbside collector an additional $10,000 per month for the next six months to continue picking up container glass. For many cities, glass recycling has gone from being a revenue stream to being an expense. It’s one they’re unlikely to bear for very long.

Cities continue to cope with the demand by residents that glass be included in recycling programs, even when it’s difficult to find buyers for the resulting product. Many cities are crushing the glass to use it as landfill cover. Others are simply landfilling the product to free storage space at their reclamation facilities. A growing number of cities are simply not accepting glass into their recycling streams at all.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

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More cities curbing glass recycling

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More cities curbing glass recycling

More cities curbing glass recycling

Glass is a hard sell in the recycling world. Many cities are removing glass from the list of accepted materials in their curbside recycling programs. Without recycling, that leaves a limited number of options for discarded container glass. In some respects, Coeur d’Alene, ID is ahead of the curve on this issue. They’ve landfilled glass directly for nearly a decade.

North Idaho doesn’t have any glass recycling facilities, and shipping Coeur d’Alene’s containers elsewhere for recycling is too expensive. According to city officials, the closest recycling facilities are in Oregon or across the border in Canada. As a compromise, the city’s new waste hauler plans to crush the container glass it collects and use it as landfill cover. Curbside collection of glass is still off the table, but the waste hauler will place collection containers around the city where residents can deposit their containers.

Once the glass is crushed, it will be used as a daily cover for the city’s landfill, to cut down on odors, trap gases from decay, and discourage trash-scattering by the wind, rodents and birds. Some of the crushed glass could also be recycled, if the company can find a buyer and develop a transportation strategy. Crushed glass, known as cullet, could also make its way into paving materials as a replacement for potash.

A small, members-only recycling company in Coeur d’Alene takes containers and accepts donations from members. The company sorts and crushes the glass, and returns it to members, who use it in a variety of ways, including landscaping, artwork and construction. Currently, that group is limited by the size of their facility, and say that if they had more space, they could accept more of the city’s waste glass.

Spokane, WA is also among the growing number of US cities that is landfilling glass. The city, which switched to single-stream recycling in 2012, contracts with Waste Management to provide recycling services. The company says it can’t find enough interested buyers in waste glass to make a profit on the material.

In the past, Spokane has used pulverized glass in road construction, but the amount needed for those projects is far less than the city collects. So for now, the glass will be pulverized and used as landfill cover, while the city continues to look for more environmentally responsible outlets for container glass.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

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Glass recyclers offer new insight

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Glass recyclers offer new insight

Glass recyclers offer new insight

The recyclability of glass isn’t in question, but glass generates plenty of questions about the best way to recycle it. From a materials perspective, glass is infinitely recyclable. Recycled glass is virtually identical to new glass, except that recycled glass takes less energy to make.

The science behind glass recycling isn’t a problem, but there aren’t many good answers to the economic questions about glass. What’s the best way to recycle glass? How much is recycled glass worth? What’s the best way to sort glass? What’s the best way to transport glass? Who’s going to buy recycled glass? If no one’s going to buy it, what else can glass be used for?

Many curbside recycling programs have eliminated or limit their glass acceptance, primarily because they can’t find markets for the collected glass. Glass needs to be sorted according to color, so for food containers that means separating and storing green, brown and clear glass. In addition, container glass is different than tempered glass, so those types of glass need to be kept separate.

Glass breaks, and handling broken glass is just as dangerous for the workers at the local materials recovery facility (MRF) as it is for the average homeowner. Glass usually isn’t pulverized until it reaches the recycler, which creates transportation and storage problems for the material collectors. It’s no wonder that a number of cities have stopped recycling glass.

A new Wisconsin study shows that it’s still “worth it” to recycle glass. Having said that, much of the savings is realized by the recycler while many of the problems are realized by the handlers. Because demand is so low for container glass right now, the returns on recycled glass are negligible.

Adding to the debate is a complex patchwork of laws related to recycling. Wisconsin, for example, prohibits container glass from being landfilled. That means municipalities and waste handlers need to separate glass from trash, even when there’s nowhere to put it and no one wants to buy it.

Recently, the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin issued a report that examined the issue of glass recycling and attempted to find ways to make glass recycling easier and more profitable for everyone involved. The ARW report suggests that recyclers invest in new equipment designed to help sort and clean recyclable glass, under the assumption that clean glass is more attractive to potential purchasers than contaminated glass is. In addition, the report suggests that recyclers should create and adopt a standard for glass that it must meet when it leaves the MRF. The report also suggests exploring different re-use markets for container glass, including road construction, landfill cover and construction materials.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

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How to recycle dead glass solar panels

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How to recycle dead glass solar panels

How to recycle dead glass solar panels

The move toward solar energy as a “clean” source of electricity is definitely underway. Solar energy is more attractive in some areas than in others, but the growing population of solar panels is raising questions about what happens when a solar panel dies?

The life expectancy of a solar panel is somewhere in the 20-30 year range. Japan alone expects to retire somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 million old solar panels annually by 2040. That’s the equivalent of more than 100,000 solar panels each day. The logistics of disposal at that volume require some thought, so Japan is making plans to do just that!

The contemporary solar panel is a five-layered affair, with glass being on top. Recycling glass isn’t much of a trick; glass is used and reused regularly. The glass in a solar panel isn’t contaminated, so recycling the glass is comparatively easy.

The second and fourth layers of a solar cell consists of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), which surround the third layer – the actual solar cell. The EVA is laminated to the solar cell using heat, which sticks the solar-and-EVA-sandwich to the glass top layer. The fifth layer is the backing. Once all of the components are layered together, they’re stored in an aluminum frame. Add some wires and other minor components and you have a basic solar cell.

Because the EVA is stuck to the glass, the recycling process needs to include a method for freeing the glass. Not surprisingly, the “unsticking” process involves heat. The dead solar cell is heated to about 400° F, which softens the EVA layer enough to release the glass with a little mechanical help.

The goal is to recycle at least 80% of the country’s retired solar cells. What happens to the other 20%? The hope is that they can be pressed into service again in areas that receive significant sun exposure. The efficiency of a solar cell degrades over time. After 20 years in service, the average solar cell can generate only 80% of the electricity that a new cell does. While that could make a cell’s value questionable in some parts of the world, an older solar cell could continue working effectively in areas that receive a lot of sunlight.

Additional work needs to be done to improve testing of old solar cells. Improved testing will make it easier to determine which cells should be broken down and which ones can be reassigned. The work to dismantle, recycle and reuse solar cells that’s being done today will reap significant rewards in the next 20—30 years, not just for Japan but for countries worldwide.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

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CRT Glass Recycling Gets a Boost

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CRT Glass Recycling Gets a Boost

CRT Glass Recycling Gets a Boost

California Governor Jerry Brown signed new legislation into law today that allows glass recyclers in California to recycle glass from old cathode ray tubes (CRT). CRTs represent an older design approach to computer and television monitors. Under existing laws, the glass tubes were not eligible to be fully recycled. Instead, the old glass tubes could be used to make new glass CRTs. They could also be smelted or committed to landfills.

The restrictions on CRT recycling were put into place largely because CRTs typically contain varying amounts of lead. Only one manufacturer in the world still produces CRTs, and it’s unclear how much longer that company, which is located in India, will continue to produce CRTs. The lack of a marketplace for old CRTs has led to the significant stockpiling of old CRTs, as well as direct disposal into landfills. Authorities in California estimate that the state’s waste haulers and recyclers currently have about 17 million pounds of CRT glass in storage.

Under the new legislation, the glass can be recycled into additional non-harmful uses, including glass tiles and radiation-shielding glass. CRT glass may only be recycled into applications where no known harm exists. The legislation also authorizes state agencies to approve new end-use products that meet the legislative intent, as well as to prohibit current and previously permitted uses for CRT glass that are later discovered to be harmful.

California’s goal in passing the glass recycling legislation is to open up new markets for stockpiled, recyclable glass that will reduce the need to create new materials, or extract new raw materials.

Glass is infinitely recyclable, but glass is typically sorted prior to recycling, based upon its previous use. Container glass can be remade into new containers. Tempered glass and heat strengthened glass is also recyclable, but cannot be combined with ordinary glass during recycling. Colored glass and “contaminated” glass – including glasses that contain lead, chromium and other heavy metals – are also technically recyclable, but because of their heavy metal content, they’re typically discarded.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store

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European Group Calls Glass a Permanent Material

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European Group Calls Glass a Permanent Material

European Group Calls Glass a Permanent Material

The European Commission’s ITRE Committee has agreed with the results of a study conducted by the European Container Glass Federation, which determined that glass is a “permanent material.” The designation is important because it means that container glass is a primary raw material for new glass. The goal of the Commission is to identify materials that can be recycled effectively and repeatedly, in order to reduce the amount of new or raw materials that are extracted from the land.

Glass is particularly interesting as a recycled material because cullet (pulverized glass) reduces the amount of energy needed to reform the glass into new containers. This also meets another of the Commission’s goals – reducing the amount of energy used in material manufacturing in Europe.

The designation is currently dependent upon the development of effective glass recycling programs in all European Union countries. According to the study, about three-quarters of all container glass in Europe is recycled, but the actual percentage varies from country to country. The flip side of that is the 25% of container glass that makes its way into landfills in Europe. The Commission would like to find ways to more effectively recycle, and reduce the amount of container glass that gets thrown away.

The study is part of the recently adopted “Circular Economy Package” by European Union countries. The aim of the Circular Economy Package is to promote more recycling, to set recycling and landfill targets, and to incentivize the use of recycled materials among EU member nations.

While the study itself applies to container glass, the goal of recycling and reuse of glass increases the long-term likelihood that glass will play a more important role in material use in Europe. Glass is both a decorating and working surface, and will be used more extensively in EU countries as a way to meet “Circular Economy” targets.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to bond permanently to glass surfaces. The paint works on all types of glass, and will not chip, fade or peel once the paint has cured. Curing takes place within 72 hours of application, and can be used on both interior and exterior applications. In addition, Glassprimer™ glass paint offers exceptional UV resistance, even when exposed to direct sunlight.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
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Upgraded sorting machines might save glass recycling

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Upgraded sorting machines might save glass recycling

Upgraded sorting machines might save glass recycling

A growing concern among municipalities, materials recyclers and individual consumers is the possibility that glass recycling will come to a halt. Environmentally, there is no debate about the value of recycling glass. Glass is virtually infinitely recyclable, and consumes less energy during recycling than making new glass does.

Glass manufacturers would like to add more cullet (ground glass that’s ready for recycling) to their materials mixture, but the logistics of glass recycling make that difficult. Glass is heavy, and before it’s ground into cullet, it’s bulky. More importantly, glass needs to be sorted precisely. Different glass formulations can’t be mixed together. Significantly, heat-treated glass (tempered glass and Pyrex), colored and leaded glass need to be separated from the rest of the glass recycling stream, as these formulations cannot be used for containers.

X ray fluorescence and glass sorting

The emergence of X-ray fluorescence glass sorting machines may help take the sting out of glass recycling. Although the system was originally developed for glass recycling, manufacturers can also use the same technology to sort other types of recyclables. For example, Redwave’s latest sorter can identify and sort mixed heavy metals, including copper, zinc and stainless steel. It can also sort brominated plastics and a range of glass formulations.

Being able to sort recycling quickly is one key to reducing the cost associated with it. It’s also one way to ensure that glass recycling can be conducted as efficiently as possible. The challenges of recycling are real – especially for glass. A number of municipalities have already dropped or scaled back their glass recycling programs. In other cases, glass is still collected at the curb, but it is pulverized and used not as cullet, but as daily cover for landfills. One rationale for doing that is that the pulverized glass is heavy enough to hold down potential “fly-away” materials. Glass is also inert, so it poses no long-term danger from leeching or disintegration.

Municipalities are still working on ways to preserve their glass recycling programs, in part because consumers understand the recyclability of glass, perhaps better than any other material. Improved sorting technology may be able to enhance the efficiency of the glass sorting process.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

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Construction spurs glass recycling discussion

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New construction makes extensive use of glass. For a variety of reasons, glass has become an attractive material for builders to use. But what happens to architectural glass when it is no longer used? In most cases, the glass ends up in the landfill. In an effort to change that, a few movements are underway to discuss commercial glass recycling.

Glass is infinitely recyclable. It can be remade into glass an unlimited number of times, often at lower cost. The glass recycling process takes less energy that the glass making process does, so the idea of commercial glass recycling is attractive.

Commercial glass recycling has significant benefits

The vast majority of commercial glass is currently installed. While window frames deteriorate, the glass inside of them doesn’t. Although this glass could be recycled, most building construction and destruction companies don’t know what to do with window glass. The glass that doesn’t end up in the landfill usually gets repurposed in paving aggregate, used in road construction and repair. While this re-use is better than consignment to the landfill, over the long run, it increases the cost of commercial glass because virtually all commercial glass is made from new materials.
Why isn’t commercial glass recycled more frequently? First, removing glass from a building that’s being torn down or remodeled is labor-intensive. Second, unlike scrap metal and other architectural materials that can be recovered at a profit, no one’s paying for used glass. Coupled together, removing commercial glass becomes a labor-intensive activity that while good for the environment, has no immediate payback for the company performing the work.

Some newer commercial glasses – especially low-emissivity glasses, laminated glasses and wired glasses – can’t simply be recycled as is. These glasses have been specially treated or formulated in ways that regular container glass and standard float glass haven’t been, and they can’t simply be combined together in the remanufacturing process.

One of the biggest obstacles to recycling glass from building sites is the fact that most contractors don’t know what to do with the glass, how to identify and sort it, and how to ensure that the glass gets into the hands of reprocessors.

A British firm is now doing research on the best ways to process and remanufacture commercial glass. The research is funded by a European project aimed at returning construction debris to raw materials economically. The ultimate goal of the project is to reduce carbon emissions, energy consumption and landfill usage.

If you’re looking for some glass inspiration, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

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