Nashville, Tennessee, explains lack of glass recycling options

Listener’s question highlights difficulties for other Tennessee cities.

WPLN, Madison, Tennessee, reports that a Nashville, Tennessee, listener’s recent question on the station’s Curious Nashville segment regarding the lack of curbside glass recycling in the city highlights the difficulty of processing the material.

“Glass has always been a bit of an economic challenge for Nashville, as well as [for] many cities,” Jenna Smith, spokeswoman for Metro Public Works, says on the program. “There’s not really much of an end-use market and it’s not easy to recycle it … glass is definitely one of the lowest-value commodities out there.” 

According to WPLN, Nashville hauls its glass to the Metro facility in Atlanta, which is the nearest facility to the city. The facility charges $38.50 per ton, which cost Nashville more than $87,000 last year. 

WPLN also cites the difficulties faced by other cities in dealing with glass. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported in 2015 that curbside recycled glass goes to a landfill, and the Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Knoxville was considering phasing out glass from curbside recycling.  

Despite the difficulties, Nashville’s Metro Public Works continues to receive requests from residents for curbside glass recycling, the article says. Officials are considering conducting a pilot program downtown.

“You can go downtown on any Friday or Saturday night,” Nashville Mayor Megan Barry told the station. “There’s just so much glass that is being produced.”  

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