Glass will be added to the curbside collection program in the city of Springfield, Ill., by the end of this month. The commodity will be added to the city’s curbside program after being dropped the beginning of last year due to a lack of markets.
Lake Area Recycling Services, which handles the collected recyclables for the city, hopes to have new equipment in place at the recycling plant by the end of this month. When the equipment is installed the company will be able to handle clear glass.
While Lake Area Recycling will be processing the material, the city has found an end market for the processed glass. The recycling company also takes in other recyclables collected by the city, including old newspaper and junk mail, boxboard, UBCs, tin cans, and two types of plastics.
Earlier this year the Springfield City Council approved a plan to pay the recycler $55,000 to handle the glass for a three-year period.
When glass collections restart, officials ask that persons put no more than one grocery bag full of glass in their recycling bins each week.
Officials hope to expand the program to include green and brown glass in the future.