Glass recyclers face setbacks across state, solutions remain limited

On Sept. 7, the Leavenworth-based nonprofit Waste Loop had to halt glass collection at the Leavenworth Recycling Center, revealing widespread challenges of glass recycling throughout the state.

In August, the glass processor Strategic Materials, Inc. (SMI), which had been accepting a large part of the state’s recycled glass at its Seattle plant, stopped accepting glass from “uncontracted suppliers,” which included Waste Loop, as well as major areas such as the City of Tacoma and Jefferson, Clallam, and Skagit counties.

SMI’s reasoning was due to its key end market customer, the packaging company Ardagh Group, indefinitely ceasing operations at its Seattle glass bottle manufacturing plant in July. The packaging company said the cuts were due to “ongoing pressure from low-priced imports from China, Chile and Mexico, and market conditions,” according to Seattle Times reporting.

Waste Loop started hauling glass to SMI in 2020. Executive Director Ariahna Jones said her team had been hauling three to four tons of glass to SMI about every three weeks prior to the announcement.

“It has been an ongoing challenge of being able to really find efficiencies for hauling and to keep it sustainable. And then this piece with Strategic Materials, having to halt being able to collect glass really just put a nail in the coffin…Everyone's still trying to scramble,” said Jones.

Until recently, Waste Loop and 911 Glass Rescue in Chelan were the only locations accepting glass for recycling in Chelan County.

911 Glass Rescue was operated by the Rotary Club of Lake Chelan, which collected and crushed glass out of the City of Chelan Recycling Center. However, a fire in July 2024 completely burned down the facility, leaving the glass recycling operation closed until further notice.

Its Andela 05L system was able to crush one to two tons of glass per hour into fine sand and aggregate with rounded edges, which could be used for agricultural, landscaping, and decorative purposes. According to 911 Glass Rescue’s spokesperson Julie McCoy, the facility crushed 860,000 pounds of glass during the three years of operation. 

“We felt that we provided a real service to the community,” said McCoy.

The crusher may be replaced as early as Spring of 2025, McCoy said, but the rebuilding of the recycling center is anticipated to take much longer. 

Until then, McCoy has been directing folks to Methow Recycles in Twisp, which is still taking glass. According to the Methow Recycles website, the facility partnered with a local concrete company in 2016 to haul glass to Seattle. Methow Recycles did not respond for comment. 

While both Zippy Disposal and Waste Management (WM) offer curbside recycling, neither accept glass. WM removed glass from the list of acceptable recyclables in 2019, due to low market demand and costly transportation with high environmental impact.

“Recycling is always evolving. Should new opportunities arise with workable transportation logistics in reasonable proximity to the Wenatchee Valley, we will re-evaluate curbside glass recycling in collaboration with other jurisdictions,” said WM Communications Manager Patrick McCarthy in an email to Ward Media.

Yet, BIG Recyclers, a volunteer organization based out of Walla Walla, has found market demand with minimized cost. The organization operates through a hub and spoke model, collecting glass at its spokes, such as Walla Walla and Dayton, and transporting it to the hub in Pasco, Basin Disposal. From there, the glass is hauled to a materials recovery facility such as SMI or Glass to Glass in Portland.

Although BIG Recyclers was hauling to SMI, its operation was unaffected by the curtailment because it could still haul Glass to Glass, said BIG Recyclers Chairman Chris Lueck.

“These factories are glass hungry. The problem right now is that they're being flooded with contaminated product, and this is where it slows and sort of disrupts the entire recycling chain,” said Lueck. “One of the reasons Glass to Glass is working with us so diligently is that the glass that we collect, both in Benton City and in Walla Walla, is over 90 percent clean.”

BIG Recyclers receives a large portion of wine bottles from the industry, but also has cleaning guidelines for its residential customers. Because the clean bottles save so much labor, Lueck said, Glass to Glass sends its own trucks to pick up from Basin Disposal.

Although glass transportation can have its own carbon footprint, Lueck also argues that the hub and spoke model still has greater environmental and economic benefits than creating new glass.

“Those materials that have already been turned into glass, melt at a lower temperature than taking raw products and melting them at a higher temperature to make a new bottle. So, it reduces the carbon footprint. It reduces the amount of natural resources that we're using, and it lowers energy costs. And frankly, it's just the right thing to do. I mean, as a species, we cannot keep thinking we can just bury our garbage,” said Lueck.

Recently BIG Recyclers began discussions with Basin Disposal about accepting glass from outside the service area, such as Wenatchee Valley. However, Basin Disposal only has two 25-ton bunkers to store glass at the facility, making it hesitant to accept more. Lueck said it will take time to prove the hub and spoke model works, and that Glass to Glass truckloads are able to increase pickup capacity.

“They are very collaborative, very positive about what we're trying to do, but they're just sort of hedging against getting too big, too fast,” said Lueck. 

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media