Glass in Oregon recycle bins ends up in landfill
Report
Feb. 17 -- Glass placed in recycling bins in certain areas of Oregon isnīt going where residents might expect.
In Corvallis, glass picked up at the curb by Allied Waste Services, in trucks designed to carry only glass for recycling, instead finds its way to the Coffin Butte Landfill, KATU-Channel 2 in Eugene reported.
"The public should be aware of this, that itīs not being recycled, thatīs it actually goes to the landfill," one Allied Waste customer, who refused to be identified, told the news station.
In 2007, the news station said, Allied Waste was granted a permit by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to take glass to the landfill. The glass is too heavy and expensive to haul to a Portland recycling plant, the department reasoned.
The problem isnīt limited to Corvallis, the news station said. Clark County, Spokane and Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., are all trying to deal with glass in different ways.
Waste Connections Inc., for example, accepts glass from the curbside haulers in Clark County. The company then crushes the glass and sells it to contractors as a replacement for gravel in drainage or road projects, the news station said.
Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Shawn Wright at swright@crain.com or 313-446-0346.
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