CORPUS CHRISTI - People who have been saving up empty bottles and jars loaded their glass trash and hauled it down to Del Mar's East Campus on Saturday for the city's third glass recycling event. More than five tons of glass were collected, some of it to be used by a couple of local ladies with some big plans for it.
Most of the bottles get ground up, then used for various utility purposes like filling pot holes. The rest of them get saved for Deb Smith and Kathy Sieczkowski, also known as the Bottle Babes. The Babes melt down discarded bottles and transform them into something new -- artwork sold at farmers markets and the downtown art walk.
The city's glass recycling events make an impact on the environment while making it a lot easier for the Bottle Babes to find material for their business. Smith and Sieczkowski say before the city started the program, they had to beg friends and family for bottles, and sometimes turn to the dumpsters. Saturday's event yielded three dumpsters full of glass, and two happy artists who no longer have to dive in.
The next event will happen in early October at the farmer's market on Everhart.
