We’ve got pop-up art installations and pop-up eateries. Now: pop-up glass recycling.
The Pennsylvania Resources Council has come to the rescue of local environmental stewards who have been dismayed by market-driven municipal decisions to cease the recycling of glass.
The seemingly sudden removal of glass from many of the region’s residential curbside recycling programs — just when many people finally had gotten into the habit of rinsing and separating — had left many with an uncomfortable feeling each time a beer bottle or a tomato sauce jar was tossed into the garbage can.
“This exciting new program will ensure that glass is not trash, even if it can no longer be put out for curbside recycling in numerous municipalities due to recent changes in waste haulers’ contracts,” commented Justin Stockdale in a news release. He is co-executive director of the Pennsylvania Resources Council.
Residents can drop off all colors of glass bottles, jars and jugs at no cost at a variety of locations between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on a number of upcoming Saturdays. Check at www.prc.org for a full tally of locations and dates. The list includes Edgeworth Elementary School on March 30; Avalon Borough Park on April 27; Village Square Mall in Upper St. Clair on May 11.
The glass will be sent to mills that use it as raw material.
Current market conditions have made it economically unappealing to continue municipal curbside recycling as it had been operating. The PRC is making it financially feasible to allow people to keep doing the right thing before they get out of the habit of rinsing and sorting.
First Published: March 9, 2019, 1:00 p.m.