Glass Recycling Coalition awards MRF glass certifications

Balcones Resources and Sedona Recycles received the Glass Recycling Coalition’s (GRC) MRF Glass Certification at the Texas Glass Recycling Workshop, co-hosted by State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) and the GRC.

“Balcones is committed to keeping all of our recycling at the highest quality, and glass is no exception,” says Kerry Getter, chief executive officer of Balcones. “If you take some extra steps to clean glass and maintain your equipment, recycling glass is an opportunity and creates a competitive advantage in the marketplace.”

Balcones, an Austin, Texas-based material recovery facility (MRF), was awarded a silver certification after submitting its application, photos of test audits and glass capture data. The MRF has been in operation for more than eight years processing approximately 30 tons of recyclables per hour. Balcones has been an active member of the GRC since 2017. As part of the GRC’s speaker’s bureau, Balcones has touted the value of cleaning glass to achieve a higher quality material for sale in bottle-to-bottle and fiberglass options.

The second silver certification was awarded to Sedona Recycles, a nonprofit educational MRF in Sedona, Arizona. Glass makes up about 25 percent of the 3,500 tons of recyclables sorted at the MRF per year. Glass is collected separately in the region and Sedona Recycles can market clean glass consistently.

“To us, glass is the most important material because it is endlessly recyclable,” says Jill McCutcheon, executive director of Sedona Recycles. “We want to see more glass recycled and this certification can help to promote glass recycling in communities all over the country.”

The GRC MRF Glass Certification was launched in the fall to recognize effective glass recycling programs. The free certification program recognizes MRFs with additional equipment and operational procedures to clean up glass in both single-stream and dual-stream systems.

GRC’s website hosts an interactive map showing MRFs, glass processors and end-markets across the country. GRC-certified MRFs will be noted on this map along with public recognition of the certification.

The glass certification criteria are judged on current infrastructure and a glass purity measure. An independent committee scores certification levels into gold, silver and bronze certifications. MRFs holding this certification will have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.