
Though the recycle trucks have continued the curbside pickup of bottles and jars its been many months since they have gotten "recycled", rather they been going into the landfill. After accumulating a mountain of bottles Fowler decided not, for whatever reason, to use them in road base and stopped receiving them.
According to Office of Sustainability Terry Timme the Town decided to continue their contract with SW Solid Waste Authority (SWSWA) to collect them, until the July 1,2016 contract expiration and look for some alternative which would keep the bottles out of the landfill which would then extend the life of the landfill. The Town considered trucking the glass to Phoenix, Arizona for at least $43,000.00 a year after a projected sale price to the recycler.
So why don't we just crush it here? Aside from the fact that there is nobody here who would put it to use we would still need to truck it somewhere else or dump into the landfill and commercial glass crushers cost between $100,000 to $250,000 plus another employee to operate the machine. For somebody here with deep pockets (or a group) a solar kiln and glass works could be a viable business but there are none.
In a best case scenario the OoS estimates that to collect the bottles for a local kiln and production business the cost to the Town would be $27,00.00 a year which would need to be charged to the private business.
Start now to place your bottles and jars in the garbage and save the recycle drivers and sorters a lot of time and effort.