Re: Recycling a detriment?
I think the silliness in this thread is quite representative of the public's knowledge of the solid waste stream generally.
They were shipping this glass hundreds of miles only to have it end up in the dump. Now they just crush it & put it in their own dump.
Glass posing a challenge to recycling
By Wanda Laurin
Peace Citizens' Recycling Society
Tuesday May 15, 2007
Glass is posing a challenge to recyclers. As it comes from quartz sand, and there is truly no shortage of quartz sand in the world, then the main reason to recycle would be to keep it from taking up space in the landfill. Unfortunately, the recycling costs associated in time, effort and transportation make it unsuitable for the recycling stream. The only real use for recycled glass in Alberta is the beads of glass that are added to the paint used to mark lines on highways. As the paint crew passes once a year over Alberta highways, the amount of recycled glass for these lines is not beyond the supply potential. In fact, the supply of glass far exceeds the need.
What to do with all this unwanted glass? Perhaps it would be an opportunity for a glass making industry here in the north. Perhaps the glass can be reused before it reaches the recycling bin. The glass can certainly be washed out and used for containers in one’s home – which I must admit, I am doing more of since I’ve been reading articles on the leaching of chemicals from old plastic containers!
As the Building Committee for the new Eco-Recycling Centre (hopefully opening in the summer of 2008), were discussing new items to bring into the recycling stream right here in Peace River, the topic of glass came up. No recycler in Alberta wants to deal with glass. It is much more expensive to "recycle" than to just put aside.
Glass being an inert substance, causing no harm to the environment if it is just left alone, is only a problem because, one, it takes up landfill space, and two, it is a sharp and dangerous object when broken. Well, then, the answer would simply be to reduce its space and put it in a safe space so its sharp edges wouldn’t harm anyone! Instead of handling it, packaging it, and shipping it away, just crush it, reduce its space, and put it in the closest possible, safe location (our landfill!), to rest for eternity, or until there is a shortage of sand in the world.
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Re: Recycling a detriment?
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