Local and family-owned GlassKing Recovery & Recycling is partnering with Strategic Materials and the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) to provide locals with a glass recycling solution during the current quarantine guidelines. The event will focus on the collection of glass from community members, including food, beverage, beer, wine and liquor bottles.
The event will be at GlassKing’s headquarters, 2802 S. 15th Avenue, Phoenix, from April 27 through May 4 to encourage people to participate as a part of a daily errand. During the occasion, bins will be placed 12-feet apart and people dropping off their glass can arrive between 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. If recyclers are uncomfortable with leaving their vehicles there will be a zero-contact zone available until 10 a.m. Recycling items such as Pyrex or other heat-resistant glass, plastic bags and dishware cannot be accepted. Vehicles will be instructed to enter going southbound on 15th Ave. and exit northbound on 15th Ave.
“With so many people at home, we want to make sure that our earth is still taken care of during this unusual time and recycling can be a great project for the entire family,” said Rose King, co-founder of GlassKing Recovery & Recycling. “Everybody benefits here because community members can gather all of their glass recyclables and drop them off knowing they are being reused into new glass pieces instead of ending up in a landfill.”
Glass makes up roughly 25 percent of Arizona’s waste stream, and in 2019, it is estimated that more than 1 million tons of glass were sent to local landfills. These recycling experts will educate and expand services throughout the state to counteract continuing cuts to recycling programs while keeping the communities health as a top priority. The glass container manufacturing demand has increased during the current pandemic and is considered essential under the CISA Critical Infrastructure.
“GPI is proud to support this innovative effort by GlassKing Recovery & Recycling and Strategic Materials to make glass recycling safe in Phoenix during the COVID-19 response,” said Scott DeFife, President of the Glass Packaging Institute. “Recycled glass is a critical element in the making of new glass bottles, and in keeping the food and beverage packaging supply chain going, which is essential during this crisis. This partnership provides a blueprint for how local communities can respond to challenges that COVID-19 has brought to recycling, and to increase the amount of sustainable glass containers that are recovered in the state. We hope that Arizonans take advantage of this special event and keep recycling their glass while adhering to public health guidance and practicing social distancing.”
GlassKing Recovery & Recycling provides turn-key recycling solutions for businesses generating glass waste. By removing glass at the point of consumption, GlassKing can deliver cleaner glass recyclables to Strategic Materials’ glass processing facility, where it is sized and sorted by color. From there, the processed glass is sent to glass container manufacturers that use recycled glass to produce new bottles, creating a true circular economy. A glass bottle can be recycled and be back on a store shelf in as little as 30 days. The use of recycled glass during the production of new bottles also provides energy savings and a reduction in CO2 emissions.
GlassKing Recovery & Recycling provides businesses turn-key solutions for glass recycling. Their services include custom glass collection programs to ensure bars, restaurants, resorts and other facilities producing glass waste have an economical option to divert glass away from the landfill and put it back into productive use.
With over a 100-year history, Strategic Materials is North America’s largest and most comprehensive glass recycler, with nearly 50 locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company focus has been and continues to be on creating value for customers through innovation and continuous improvement. The company is a technology partner to cleaner, more efficient glass production, providing customers and suppliers with economical and environmentally viable solutions for the reuse of waste streams including glass and plastic.
Founded in 1919 as the Glass Container Association of America, the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is the trade association representing the North American glass container industry. On behalf of glass container manufacturers and their supplier partners, GPI promotes glass as an optimal packaging choice, advances environmental and recycling policies, publishes industry standards, and educates packaging professionals.
