Commercial glass recycling program kicks off in Nashville, Tennessee

The Department of Public Works has partnered with 20 restaurants and bars in the Lower Broadway district for glass recycling.

glass bottle recycling

The Department of Public Works in Nashville, Tennessee, has kicked off a new glass bottle recycling program that has partnered with 20 restaurants and bars in the Lower Broadway district, according to a Fox 17 report.

The first phase of the program started in January 2018. The project is aimed at combating what Nashville Mayor Megan Barry identifies as significant glass bottle waste after she toured local restaurants, the report says.

Public Works predicts about two-thirds of the downtown Nashville area’s more than 6,600 tons of collected trash in 2017 was glass.

“Lower Broadway has become an international tourist destination, and long-neck bottles are now synonymous with the honky-tonk experience,” says Barry. “For too long, we’ve had to throw away glass that could have been recycled and repurposed. This program is like no other, and we are excited to lead the charge toward a more sustainable city.”

Sharon Smith, assistant director at Metro Public Works, told Fox 17, “Last fiscal year, a record of more than 6,600 tons of trash was produced downtown, and we estimate that about two-thirds of that was glass. This will take a significant amount of glass out of the waste stream, where we’re not sending it all to the landfill anymore.”

Public Works is using two new trucks to pick up glass bottles twice a day, seven days a week, Fox 17 reports. The department says it is researching ways to reuse and recycle the glass locally.

Nashville's record tourism has contributed to the trash accumulation, according to Barry.

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