Glass Recycling Grows

Program Turns Beer Bottles Into Building Material

Derek Hillyer, from left, Habitat for Humanity construction manager, Rick Frye, Habitat for Humanity Re-Store warehouse manager, Jeff Brenaman, Fayetteville recycling attendant and Brian Pugh, Fayetteville waste reduction coordinator, unload 14,000 square feet of Owens Corning insulation Friday afternoon at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in Fayetteville.
Derek Hillyer, from left, Habitat for Humanity construction manager, Rick Frye, Habitat for Humanity Re-Store warehouse manager, Jeff Brenaman, Fayetteville recycling attendant and Brian Pugh, Fayetteville waste reduction coordinator, unload 14,000 square feet of Owens Corning insulation Friday afternoon at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — People’s drinking habits on Dickson Street are helping low-income families save money on utility bills.

Habitat for Humanity of Washington County received its first load of free fiberglass insulation Friday through a glass recycling program turning beer bottles into building material.

Derek Hillyer, construction manager for Habitat for Humanity, said the insulation, which keeps houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter, will be used in as many as six new homes the nonprofit group builds.

“We can definitely use it immediately,” Hillyer said.

For nearly a year, Kansas City, Mo.-based Ripple Glass has collected glass thrown into recycling bins provided by the city's Solid Waste and Recycling Division and the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District.

The company, launched in 2009 by Boulevard Brewing Co., crushes glass and sells most of it to Owens Corning, a Toledo, Ohio-based company producing fiberglass products. In exchange for the recycled glass, Owens Corning donates insulation to participating cities based on the amount of material recycled.

By The Numbers

Glass Recycling

Quarterly glass recycling volume in Fayetteville grew 35 percent from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of this year. Ripple Glass began collecting the city’s recycled glass in January 2012. A pilot program for eight Dickson Street businesses took effect in July. The program was expanded in February. Thirty-six businesses now participate.

• First quarter, 2012: 250 tons

• Second quarter, 2012: 282 tons

• Third quarter, 2012: 229 tons

• Fourth quarter, 2012: 297 tons

• First quarter, 2013: 337 tons

Source: City of Fayetteville

Last year, Fayetteville collected more than 1,000 tons of glass, or the equivalent of roughly 2.1 million bottles and jars, according to Brian Pugh, the city’s waste reduction coordinator. Ripple Glass collected 337 tons of glass in Fayetteville during the first quarter of this year, an 87 ton, or 35 percent, increase compared to the 250 tons collected in the first three months of 2012, when the Ripple Glass agreement took effect.

Pugh said a new glass recycling initiative on Dickson Street is a big reason for the increase.

The initiative started in July with eight bars and restaurants. The city collected anywhere between a half ton and a ton of glass each week. With 36 entertainment district businesses participating now, Ripple Glass is hauling away more than 2 tons a week.

“It’s an all-around good thing for everyone,” Pugh said.

Recycled glass on Dickson Street accounts for about 10 percent of glass collected in the city, through residential pickup and recycling at the Happy Hollow Road drop-off. The Fayetteville Foam Fest beer exhibition earlier this month in the Walton Arts Center parking lot generated more than 1,600 pounds of glass, Pugh said.

The city has given participating business owners individual carts, such as those used for residential trash pickup, and provided larger receptacles in three locations. Pickup is free. The effort is limited at this point to Dickson Street businesses, but could be expanded to other bars and restaurants.

“One of the items we have for this division is to do a rate study,” Pugh said. “When we do that we’ll look at the cost of expanding service citywide to other areas and develop a rate structure and cost for providing that service.”

Most business owners who want to recycle must purchase 18-gallon green recycling bins for $10.50 plus tax. Businesses can have a maximum of five bins, and the first two bins are free. Normal recycling rates, at $5.88 per month, apply.

At A Glance (w/logo)

Ripple Glass

Ripple Glass of Kansas City, Mo., doesn't charge for recycled glass it collects. Fayetteville doesn't receive money from the sale of the recycled material. Before, the city sold clear, brown and green glass to a company in Okmulgee, Okla. Brian Pugh, waste reduction coordinator, said glass sales were barely enough to cover transportation costs. “We were just approaching the point where we would lose money by recycling glass,” Pugh said. He added the city saves on disposal fees at the Tontitown landfill when material is recycled.

Source: Staff Report

Pugh said the cost of implementing the Dickson Street program was minimal. He estimated the price of each recycling cart at about $60 and said the three larger receptacles cost about $900 total. Because the program is confined to a roughly six-block area, it can be handled in about an hour each week without hiring more employees.

“We did not add any staff. We did not add any trucks,” Pugh said.

Expanding the program further would add costs, which could be borne by Fayetteville ratepayers.

Steven Gedert, an assistant manager at U.S. Pizza Co. on Dickson Street, said his restaurant’s employees didn’t think much about the glass they were throwing away each shift before being approached by the city earlier this year.

With a new option at their disposal, Gedert said U.S. Pizza easily fills a 30-gallon trash can with beer and liquor bottles and chipped mugs twice a week.

“It works out great,” he said. “It takes stuff out of the Dumpster. It’s obviously good for the environment, and it doesn’t cost us anything.”

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