GPI 2011 Friends of Glass • Glass Act

Company Name

Glass Act

Contact Information

Angela Carbetta, Director
Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention
222 West Center Street
Marion, Ohio 43302
Office: 740-223-4120
Cell: 740-244-6527
wastenot@co.marion.oh.us

About Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention

Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention (MCRLP) was established in 1982 through “Recycle, Ohio!” grant funding from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention. Angela Carbetta, MCRLP environmental educator since 2001, was appointed director by the Marion County Board of Commissioners in 2006. Carbetta oversees community recycling activities, litter clean-up events, sustainability initiatives, youth and adult education programming, and green economic development projects.

Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention promotes green, sustainable living in the Marion area and beyond. Recycling preserves natural resources, saves energy, reduces pollution, conserves landfill space, helps prevent climate change and promotes green industry. Litter prevention is vital for public health and safety, community pride, and economic growth.

Please call 740-223-4120, email wastenot@co.marion.oh.us, or find Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention on Facebook to report a litter crime or to inquire about recycling opportunities, community clean-ups, senior citizen assistance, environmental education programs, and volunteer opportunities.

Glass Container Recycling/Sustainability Achievements:

Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention (MCRLP) was awarded a $10,000 Community Development Grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention to promote bar glass recycling. Ohio Galvanizing Corporation provided the required grant match of $5,000. Badertscher Communications helped develop a marketing plan for the project, coining the trade-marked name and logo for “Glass Act.”

Grant funding was used to purchase indoor and outdoor recycling containers for participating restaurants and taverns, advertising, and fuel. Recycled glass sun catchers and glass marble key chains from Weisenbach Recycled Products were also purchased with grant monies to promote recycled glass products. The enthusiastic recycling efforts of Glass Act bars, along with active assistance from Hambone’s Dumpster & Sanitation, Rumpke Waste & Recycling, and Sims Brothers Recycling, made the program a success. Marion County’s Glass Act is recycling an average of 2.5 tons of bottle glass each week!

MCRLP Director Angela Carbetta has been invited to speak to a number of groups about this project, including the ODNR Advisory Board, Ohio EPA, Ohio Association of Litter Prevention & Recycling Professionals, Rotary, Women’s Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Group. In November she will address the Association of Ohio Recyclers at their annual convention.

Angela is also active member of the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), and was just recently nominated for an OEC Environmental Achievement Award. The winners will be announced at the annual OEC gala in October.

Other Recycling/Sustainability Achievements:

Last year Marion County Recycling & Litter Prevention was the proud winner of Keep Ohio Beautiful’s “America Recycles Day” award for their 1st Annual Eco-Art Fest. Seventeen vendors displayed recycled art work ranging from steel sculptures and paintings on old pizza boxes to six-pack ring snowflakes and recycled glass liquor bottle lamps. Over four hundred people attending the eco-art show at the historic Palace Theatre in downtown Marion. Plans for the 2011 Eco-Art Fest on November 18th are underway.

The MCRLP office was awarded grant funding from the Marion Council Aging to coordinate appliance recycling pick-up services and a volunteer yard raking/composting for local seniors. (Older adults fondly remember drinking milk from re-usable glass bottles, and still swear that it tastes better that way!) Ohio American Water awarded a grant for the MCRLP office’s “Fishing for Litter” initiative—a community campaign to clean local lakes and waterways.

Ongoing recycling and sustainability achievements continue on a daily basis with school environmental presentations, litter clean-up events, and community recycling programs, along with annual large-scale venue recycling at the county fair and Marion Popcorn Festival. ConAgra Foods also presented MCRLP with special funding to assist with these community recycling initiatives.

Future Plans:

Thanks to financial support, technical assistance, and heartfelt encouragement from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention, Ohio Galvanizing, Sims Brothers Recycling, Rumpke Waste & Recycling, Hambone’s Dumpster & Sanitation Services, Badertscher Communications, the Marion County Board of Commissioners, all the amazing Glass Act bars and each one of their wonderful customers, bar bottle glass recycling in Marion is a permanent, sustainable program. We currently have thirty-one bars involved with the project. Our goal is to get every restaurant, bar and tavern in Marion County on board. Hopefully Glass Act can serve as a model for establishments throughout the state and beyond.

Ohio Galvanizing has plans underway to galvanize some new Glass Act dumpsters. Galvanizing has been an effective, maintenance-free, environmentally-friendly corrosion control solution for over 150 year. As more businesses recycle bottle glass, the need for containers and a collection infrastructure will grow. We plan on expanding Glass Act until every bottle finds its way back to a recycling facility!

Special thanks to ODNR Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention for their long term vision. In addition to generous grant funding, their market development studies and enhanced technology research provides the focus necessary for glass recycling to continue. Last but not least, deepest gratitude to the Glass Packaging Institute for acknowledging our efforts and advocating for the glass recycling industry. I propose a toast to Glass Act and all our green friends!