The closing of a glass manufacturing plant in Milford probably didn’t much interest the average Massachusetts consumer, but that closure marked the end of an era – and exemplified the way the glass recycling market has changed.
Ardagh, which manufactured glass bottles, closed its plant in March. It was the major customer of the Strategic Materials recycling plant in nearby Franklin, MA. So when Ardagh folded, the recycling plant soon followed. When it closed its doors in June, the Strategic Materials plant was the only glass recycling plant in all of Massachusetts. That closure left limited options for recycling glass in New England.
Now, months later, what happens to all those glass containers that consumers and companies send to recycling? Currently, a lot of it gets shipped to Raynham,, MA where a local company grinds it into small cullet / sand that is then used for road projects. At least it’s being used productively, rather than being dumped in landfills – but the towns that send their glass to Raynham are paying fees of $90 per ton or more, which is more than three times the rate those municipalities used to pay for glass recycling.
Still, the closure of the Franklin plant wasn’t a shock. Recycling glass is notoriously difficult. For one thing, think about the caps, stickers and paper labels that are so often attached or glued to glass bottles. Recyclers have to remove them at the beginning of the process, and lingering label residue fowls up recycling machinery. Glass is also heavy, which makes it expensive and difficult to transport. The many colors and types of glass also complicate matters. And of course, glass breaks. It breaks during shipping, while it’s being transported into the facility, as it’s moving through the machines – and any premature breakage causes safety issues and damages equipment.
Furthermore, the demand for glass has slowed down in recent years, especially from beverage bottlers. Beer makers tend to prefer aluminum cans for packaging these days. Cans are lightweight and they do a better job of keeping air and light away from the beer than glass bottles do.
What are Recyclers to Do?
Both recycling customers and recycling companies could benefit from rethinking glass.
For businesses and consumers that are conscious about recycling issues, trying to avoid glass packaging is a useful exercise. Creating less glass “waste” is in everyone’s best interest, especially that of the municipalities and companies that have to pay to dispose of it. Whenever possible, pick packaging that’s made of metal or paper; these materials can be more easily and profitably recycled than glass. Reusing glass containers multiple times also cuts down on the quantity of glass that ultimately ends up in recycling bins.
Meanwhile, glass manufacturers, recyclers and researchers are looking for more cost-effective and environmentally sound ways to dispose of glass. One option is to look to our neighbor to the north for inspiration. In Ontario, a government initiative called the Continuous Improvement Fund is researching the effectiveness of recycled glass as a substitute for sand in bio-soil, a type of soil that’s optimized to support plant growth. And in 2016, a nonprofit in Québec launched a pilot program that gave financial incentives to groups that marketed products made using glass from curbside recycling.
No one is quite sure what the future of glass recycling looks like here in New England, but adopting creative solutions could be one way of minimizing disposal costs and keeping glass out of landfills. At Miller Recycling, we’re always concerned about keeping costs down while meeting our customers’ needs. Contact us today to discuss recycling options for your municipality or business!