No more curbside glass recycling for Washington

WASHINGTON — Washington residents are asked to stop putting glass in their curbside recycling bins, a few months after the city switched to a new waste disposal company.

ABC Disposal General Manager Jim Hopkins said the company had never accepted the material for recycling since it presents a hazard to staff who sort all intake by hand, although city officials said they weren’t aware of that caveat until October.

“We don’t want glass in something we’re going to sort,” Hopkins said. “It gets compacted, and glass ultimately breaks, then it’s all throughout the product that we work with.”

It’s a change from the previous provider, Johnson County Refuse, which accepted glass recycling but faced growing complaints about customer service shortfalls and missed pickup locations last year, leading the city to switch waste disposal contractors in July.

For redeemable bottles, WCDC still accepts glass at its redemption center in Washington, but only if it’s brought in boxes. The center does not accept jars or non-redeemable containers, and doesn’t take broken glass, according to a spokesperson.

Otherwise, the city has directed residents to start putting glass in their trash totes, instead of recycling bins.

Some municipalities in Iowa continue to collect glass curbside. Cedar Rapids does so, but instructs residents to place the product in two to five-gallon buckets next to their recycling and trash bins for the safety of collection staff.

Washington City Administrator Joe Gaa said he didn’t expect the city to pursue alternative curbside glass recycling anytime soon, thanks to poor market conditions. It’s worth noting that WEMIGA Waste Management — which contracts with Washington County but not the city itself — put a pause on glass recycling for that very reason back in 2022.

“There hasn’t been a good market for glass, especially in this region, for many years. In most communities glass goes into the trash as they do not survive commingled collection systems well,” Gaa said in an email. “As there does not appear to be a local market to (sell) recycled glass, we are not looking at other options.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com