Some residents’ old bottles and jars will find their way across the Rockies as the Seeley Lake Community Foundation will host a glass recycling event that should save resources while generating money for the local schools.
People can donate glass from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 15. It is expected to yield several thousand pounds of glass, according to SLCF Executive Director Claire Muller. The summer pickup also could beat the previous Seeley record of 5,000 pounds of glass collected last September.
“I think the word is getting out there more and more,” Muller said. “We’ve been blown away by the amount of interest in the last six months.”
In addition to recycling, the foundation encourages a donation of $1 for every gallon of glass. For July, local nonprofit Charlie’s Helping Hands will match the first $1,000 in donations. Muller said some people just donate money during the drop off day, as it goes to the schools.
Once the glass is picked up in Seeley, it is trucked to Missoula, where nonprofit RecycleWorks processes the glass and prepares it for a truck bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. Adam McDonald, the director of RecycleWorks, said the Missoula County area has recycled close to 2 million pounds of glass.
The program uses back-haul trucks, or cargo trucks that often leave empty back to Salt Lake City after dropping off goods in Missoula. That way, McDonald said, the program can be efficient as possible and save energy.
While people generally drop off the right glass, McDonald said only food grade glass can be accepted by RecycleWorks. Pyrex containers or broken window glass cannot be processed in the same way.
Once the glass makes it to Salt Lake City, it is melted down into new bottles and jars. The process can repeat infinitely, as glass can be melted and molded many times. Muller said this is a great way to limit waste while generating some money for the schools.
For more information, visit the Seeley Lake Community Foundation website.
Reader Comments(0)