Metro-Wide Glass Recycling System Launches in Kansas City, MO

Kansas City, MO residents can now drop off their glass bottles and jars at one of 60 locations in the metro area, including Whole Foods, Price Chopper and Hen House grocery stores, Sprint Nextel, Hallmark Cards, the Harley Davidson Plant, and community centers.

Glass bottles and jars recycled through this extended drop-off system will then be taken to Ripple Glass, which opens December 1st, for sorting and processing. The finished cullet will be used at a local Owens Corning plant for fiberglass insulation.

Each drop-off container (photo right) holds 8-10 tons of mixed-color glass, but Stacia Stelk, Executive Director at Ripple Glass, admits they aren’t sure how much to expect. “We hope to take in 6,000 to 7,000 tons conservatively in the first year, and by year three around 15,000 to 20,000 annually.”

A feasibility study conducted prior to project development revealed that only 5% of Kansas City residents recycle glass. According to Stelk, they expect there is a big opportunity to significantly increase the recycling rate, estimating there is 80,000 tons of glass thrown away each year. Glass is not collected through the City’s single stream curbside collection program, so residents are “anxious to recycle their glass,” says Stelk.

Ripple Glass used a $300,000 grant from Mid-America Regional Council, a regional planning organization, and matching funds, to purchase the drop-off containers and a remaining $100,000 to educate residents. “We applied for and received the largest grant of this kind, mostly because glass is such a big issue in our community,” says Stelk.

Ripple Glass hired a PR firm to help launch the program, which so far has generated lots of free media, and have plans for a variety of community-based social marketing approaches to education. With their hauling partner, Deffenbaugh Industries, which also collects other recyclables at the curb, Ripple is testing innovative ways to communicate with residents. To start, they’re providing customer feedback on Facebook. “We’ve gone from 200 to 1,700 fans in a just a few weeks," says Stelk. Also in the works is the use of shelf labels in grocery and liquor stores to remind consumers to recycle glass.

Stelk says they anticipate looking to the glass container manufacturing markets in the future. “This was all started because Boulevard Brewery was tired of watching their beer bottles not get recycled, so they have an interest in seeing their glass get turned back into new beer bottles.” Ripple Glass investors include Boulevard Brewing Company, UMB Bank, VST Systems, and individuals who are also employed at Boulevard Brewing. “People are so excited and really feel good about this project,” says Stelk. “It’s hopeful to have a new business in this economy.” More