Like other counties and Oak Ridge, Anderson County will stop recycling glass.
The county announced the suspension of glass recycling in a press release on Monday.
The press release said Anderson County Solid Waste was notified on August 15 that WestRock, the county’s recycling vendor, would suspend the “receiving, handling, and marketing of glass bottles and jars collected at (the) county’s drop off centers” effective September 1.
To prepare for the change, the Marlow Convenience Center will stop accepting glass for recycling on August 29, the press release said. Residents should place glass in their regular garbage for disposal, the release said.
“Up to this point, Anderson County was able to maintain a designated container for the recycling of clear, green, and amber glass bottles and containers at the Marlow Convenience Center for residents, as many in the county have expressed an interest in being able to recycle glass containers and keep them out of the landfill,” the press release said. “Glass recycling has not generated revenue for the materials for some time, and the cost of hauling the material is high.”
Anderson County Solid Waste has looked into finding alternative vendors for the glass materials, the press release said. However, the vendors that are currently accepting glass are located in Mount Pleasant and Ashland City, Tennessee, in the Nashville area. While those vendors do accept glass and offer $30 per ton for clear glass, they do not provide revenue for the colored glass, the press release said.
It said Anderson County generates between 35-50 tons of recycled glass material annually, or about 15-20 loads, of which a third, 12-16 tons, may be clear glass that would generate revenue of roughly $500 annually.
“However, the cost to haul the material to middle Tennessee would be $1,500-$2,000 per load, totaling approximately $40,000 per year in cost,” the press release said. “Unfortunately, this is far more cost than the county can bear to continue recycling glass containers. And as such, Anderson County will join the surrounding counties in discontinuing glass recycling and will continue to look for alternatives to allow the program to be re-instituted in the future if it is economically viable.”
Residents are encouraged to consider reducing the amount of glass they purchase and to consider reuse of glass containers with lids that may be usable as alternative storage containers for small items, the press release said.
Entrepreneurs interested in offering glass recycling options or Anderson County residents with questions should contact Anderson County Solid Waste at (865) 463-6845, the release said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or john.huotari@oakridgetoday.com.
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