Though many recycling options exist in the Arkansas River Valley, one product without a recycling outlet is glass.
Angela Allen, district educator for Green Source Recycling (formerly Recycle Works) in Clarksville, said the recycling of glass is just too expensive at this time.
“We’re always looking at ways to expand the district to help people get rid of their recyclable items. But you do what you can when you can do it. We get calls all the time about recycling glass, but if we were to haul it, it would be very expensive. It would have to go to Oklahoma to be sorted according to color. The sorting process becomes very expensive.”
Lannis Nicholson, Waste Management site manager for Russellville, said Russellville Waste Management does not currently accept glass for recycling because all recyclable materials are hauled to GreenSource.
“It’s something we’re trying to work toward, but it is so expensive,” Nicholson said.
An option that would eliminate transportation of glass, which becomes very heavy not to mention dangerous to haul, would be purchasing a glass grinder. Once ground into sand, the product would be distributed to area road departments.
“The machine would be very expensive. It’s not something we’ll delve into in the next three or four months. We work off limited funds but it is something we’d like to do to give back to the counties and towns, but it got put on hold. ... We will find grant funding eventually.”
Allen said the grinder would eliminate the most costly factor involved in glass recycling —transportation. “It would keep us from paying for transportation. It’s most cost effective to turn it into sand,” Allen said. Allen said Waste Management Recycle America is the closest location she know of that accepts glass. “Glass is such a reusable item. I would encourage people to recycle it if they can.”
