CCR has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about why glass is being dumped at the Moab Landfill. This article is an attempt to explain why that is occurring and how we as a community might work together to recycle the glass.

In July 2010 the nonprofit organization Canyonlands Community Recycling (CCR) transferred operation of the recycling center to the Grand County Solid Waste Special Service District. The agreement and intent of both parties in transferring the recycling center to the Solid Waste District was to strengthen the recycling program by allowing the District to streamline recycling and landfill management, sharing staff, funding and equipment between both programs.

Until 2009 the recycling center hired drivers with belly dump trailers to haul Moab's crushed glass to MillerCoors (previously Coors) in Wheat Ridge, Colorado for recycling into new bottles. The center hired truckers willing to "back-haul" Moab's glass so the center (CCR-operated at the time) only paid one-way transport costs to MillerCoors. Starting in 2009, however, it became increasingly hard to find a trailer to hire, truckers were less willing to offer the back-haul option (meaning the center would have to bear the cost of round-trip transportation), and fuel prices increased. The increased cost of these hauls was offset by revenues from other recyclables. (The world of recycling is fluid and whereas some recyclable materials earn money, some items don't, and some break even.)

While CCR managed to ship some of the community's glass during the 2008-2010 period, it became increasingly difficult to find belly dump trailers for hire. As a result, crushed glass sat out in the elements at the recycling center and was contaminated with dirt and gravel, which makes it undesirable to buyers like MillerCoors unless copious amounts of water are used to wash the glass. CCR was in the process of transitioning turnover of the recycling center to the Solid Waste District at the time and the only solution that could be found short of using all that water to wash the glass was to send the contaminated glass to the Moab Landfill for use as inert cover. (See January 7, 2010 Times-Independent guest editorial written by CCR and the District: www.moabtimes.com/view/full_story/5477346/article--T-I--Guest-Editorial-Local-glass-recycling-needs-long-term-solution%E2%80%A6-?)

As noted in the editorial, this was only viewed as an acceptable short-term solution, while working towards solutions to stockpile glass and prevent future contamination while awaiting transport of the glass. When CCR considered transferring the recycling center to the District, it appeared that revenues from other recyclable materials earning money, plus the flexibility in the District's budget, could help offset the round-trip cost of hauling glass once trucks were again available.

The Solid Waste District officially took over management of the recycling center in July 2010. In September 2010 CCR organized a public workshop about the future of glass recycling, co-sponsored by the District. Based on research on four different alternatives to recycling/reusing glass (www.moabrecycles.com/pdfs/GlassAlternatives.pdf), CCR came away from those discussions recommending to the District the option of helping to raise money to purchase a belly dump trailer for the recycling center to use, and hiring local drivers to haul it to MillerCoors. This suggestion was based in part on discussions with, and an October 2010 visit to Moab from, a MillerCoors representative. MillerCoors confirmed then, and reconfirmed in November 2011, the following:

It takes a while to amass enough glass to send a full load of glass (24 tons) to MillerCoors. Glass can be crushed into fiber bags, and stored on-site at the recycling center until a full load is accumulated. The contents of each fiber bag is then emptied into a belly dump trailer for shipping. (Despite the belly dump shortage in 2009 and 2010, they are available for hire again.) If the glass awaiting shipment remains in fiber bags too long, however, the bags break down in the sun and the glass spills onto the dirt thereby becoming contaminated. One of the things the recycling center is currently lacking is a clean spot to store crushed glass until it is ready to be shipped. One solution to this problem would be installing a concrete pad with separate bays for the different glass colors that is large enough to hold the 24 tons needed to fill a truck. This would avoid the purchase of fiber bags, handling the glass twice, the breakdown of the bags in the sun, and finding a different means to keep the glass from being contaminated.

At the September 2010 glass workshop, the District noted that they were unable to construct any improvements such as concrete pads at the recycling center due to zoning issues. (The recycling center sits on a combination of City and County land zoned for residential use.) The City and County councils met jointly to discuss this in November 2010. As a result, the County Council agreed in June 2011 to allow for site improvements (see Times-Independent article at: www.moabtimes.com/view/full_story/14444583/article-County-approves-land-use-code-amendment-to-improve-recycling-services?).

The District reserves the right to dump glass from the recycling center at the Moab landfill to use as inert cover. They are short on dirt cover at this landfill and consider using the glass a suitable alternative to trucking in more dirt. As noted on the District's website (www.solidwastessd1.com/community-recycle-center.html), "When the prices are not favorable, products may be stored on site. On a temporary basis, glass may be crushed and used in intermediate cover or incorporated into roads at the Moab Landfill. This practice saves the District the cost of buying cover soil."

CCR remains committed to recycling glass rather than landfilling it. Glass can be recycled in perpetuity and utilizing recycled glass saves valuable natural resources, is more cost effective than utilizing virgin materials, uses less energy, and creates less environmental pollution. It is still possible to recycle glass in Moab using fiber bags for storage. Furthermore, glass recycling could be made more feasible with a few improvements to the recycling center site. Our intention in sharing all of this information is to better educate the public about the options available to the community and to encourage the community to work together toward the viable solutions to revive glass recycling in our valley.

To that end, CCR recently received $10,000 from an anonymous donor who wants to assist in resuming glass recycling in our community. The purpose of the grant is to utilize $1,000 to study the feasibility of recycling glass (carbon comparisons, resource costs, truck vs. rail, amounts, cost of landfill cover, etc.), and to place $9,000 in reserve to spend once the results of the study are complete and determine the best way to handle glass in our community.

CCR is moving forward in finding an independent third party to complete this study. After the study is complete, CCR will share the findings with the community and the District. We're then hoping to work together to determine whether it makes sense to pursue a matching grant to help the District make structural improvements to make glass recycling more user-friendly and easier to handle for the District. This could include a cement pad with dividers to keep the glass free of contaminants prior to shipment, thereby eliminating the use of the fiber bags.

The District welcomes input from the public, by email or in person at their monthly meetings. You may email the District Manager Tom Edwards at gcswmss@yahoo.com. You might ask that your comments/suggestions also be shared with the District's administrative board: Bruce Keeler, Pam Hackley, Kevin Fitzgerald and Chris Conrad. (The City representative seat on the board is currently vacant.) Please consider copying CCR (ccr@moabrecycles.org) on any emails to the District so that we can better gauge public interest in whether glass recycling is an activity our community wishes to continue.