The three main tenants of green living are these: reduce, reuse, recycle. This month, the recycling part of that mantra became threatened here in the Flathead when the owners of the valley’s sole glass recycling plant–New World Recycling–decided to shut down the plant. However, Citizens for a Better Flathead recognized the importance of maintaining a glass recycling facility and stepped in to save the business (at least for another month).
Citizens for a Better Flathead came to an agreement with Glacier National Park Lodges and New World Recycling to keep glass recycling available for Flathead residents through November 30, 2018. They will be sponsoring the rent for the land where the glass crusher is located. GNPL will continue to sponsor the pickup and processing of glass collected at their public site in Columbia Falls (map linked below).
Please note, New World will NOT be resuming their curbside routes, nor will they be collecting glass at their site south of Kalispell. This agreement is ONLY for the Xanterra GNPL site in Columbia Falls. Please bring only CLEAN glass bottles and jars to the bins located there for recycling.
While this is a short-term solution, we’re hopeful that it gives the community more breathing room to come up with an answer for glass recycling. Glass is one of the only items we can recycle locally, which is more important than ever before as we continue to watch global recycling markets crash. Crushed recycled glass can be used as an aggregate in cement and roadways as well as landscaping material. Combined with the growth occurring in the valley, we believe there can be a strong local market for this product if our local cities and county prioritize the use of recycled glass in construction projects. For example, the City of Whitefish is currently considering regulations encouraging the use of recycled glass in concrete for new construction.
If you’re interested in learning more about purchasing this glass recycling business, please contact New World directly at (406) 260-3317.
If you’re interested in learning more about general recycling procedures in the Flathead, including what materials are recyclable and where to do so, check out the WasteNot program run by Citizens for a Better Flathead. If you’re interested in learning more about the state of recycling in the Flathead now that China has stopped accepting Montana’s waste products, see this informative article from the Flathead Beacon.