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City of Helena adds processor to glass recycling

glass recycling
Posted at 9:09 AM, Mar 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-24 11:16:10-04

HELENA — Glass recycling in Helena is consistent from year to year, with the City of Helena reporting that about 350 tons of glass are recycled annually. From the transfer station, the glass gets hauled to a company that eventually turns it into cement. Recently, this company notified the transfer station that they were at capacity with glass.

"They had suspended us from hauling glass until they got caught up on their backlog and with that being said, there were limited outsources for us to take the glass,” says Pete Anderson, the Superintendent of the Solid Waste Division at the City of Helena Transfer Station.

WEB EXTRA: rundown of recyclables at Helena Transfer Station

The transfer station posted signs saying glass will be landfilled until they found another source to collect them, and they did within days. They found a company in Utah that collects glass to turn into fiberglass installation. The public is encouraged to still drop off their glass in the glass-designated roll off container, but the city is planning changes.

"In the course of the next two months, there will be a designated drop off area here at the transfer station designed for the public to use and they will no longer use the roll-offs, after that site is completed," says Anderson.

The Solid Waste Division will create a new drop off area for glass to make loading and transportation much easier now that the City of Helena has a second business to ship and recycle glass.

To learn more about recycling in Helena, click here.