Ross commissioners were livid last year when the township’s waste hauler asked that residents no longer put glass to the curb for recycling.
So they decided to take matters into their own hands.
The township has partnered with the Pennsylvania Resource Council to set up a dumpster at the public works complex to collect glass for recycling.
“We’ve been looking for a way to get glass recycling done and this was an option PRC was offering,” said Commissioner Dan DeMarco. “I think this is a great way to make sure that the glass is being recycled instead of going to the landfill.”
The dumpster and the cost of hauling the glass away is being covered by the nonprofit conservation group and is available to residents of any community, DeMarco said.
While the township’s hauler Waste Management is still required to pick up glass along with other recyclables until its current contract expires, company officials have indicated that glass collection likely will be eliminated in the future.
The high cost of separating glass from the plastic, paper and cardboard collected at the curb for recycling has helped fuel a near nationwide collapse of the glass-recycling industry.
Experts say even when the glass does get picked up at the curb, there’s a great likelihood it will never be recycled.
Glass that breaks when it’s mixed in with cardboard, paper and plastic often results in the entire batch going to the landfill because it is too costly and dangerous for workers to manually sift through the material to remove the shards.
PRC officials say there still is a strong market for glass bottles, jars and jugs and when the material is placed in a dedicated receptacle such as the one set up in Ross, 100% of it gets recycled.
The glass recycling station in Ross is located at 225 Cemetery Lane and is open seven days a week during daylight hours.
All colors of glass bottles, jugs and jars that have been rinsed clean are accepted.
No plastic or paper bags, cardboard or other items should be placed in the dumpster or discarded at the site.
