Recycling Glass in Arlington

Glass in single-stream recycling systems is difficult to effectively separate from other materials. Therefore, the glass in the blue cart is generally too contaminated to be recycled and is disposed in a landfill. Conversely, glass recycled separately is a valuable material and can be successfully recycled into new products.

Glass breaks during the recycling collection process, and also breaks while moving through the MRF, often becoming so small that it falls through the screens that are used to separate materials from one another. This glass, and the glass that makes it to the end of the process, is often contaminated with small scraps of paper, plastics, food waste and other residue, making it unmarketable. Glass can also cross-contaminate processed recyclables and is frequently found inside recovered paper and cardboard bales.

The trash collected from Arlington’s black carts is delivered to a waste-to-energy facility in Alexandria where it is combusted and converted to energy. The melted glass is mixed with ash from the combustion process and taken to an ash monofill for final disposal.

The County’s five glass drop-off sites offer glass-only dumpsters. Glass deposited in these presorted containers, is now picked up by a recycling firm, which pays Arlington for the material.

Although additional sites are unlikely at this point, the County will continue to explore opportunities to add drop-offs.

While glass bottles and jars collected in single-stream programs are now heading to disposal, plastic food and beverage bottles and containers, and plastic bottles and containers for soap, detergent, shampoo, etc., are all very recyclable and have solid end markets. Arlingtonians should still try to limit the use of single-use plastics such as straws and cup lids, Styrofoam cups, and retail bags. To minimize impact on the environment, we should follow the waste hierarchy of reduce, reuse, recycle/compost, waste to energy and landfilling.

In addition to removing glass, residents can expect increased education about minimizing contamination in the recycling stream. Commodity markets are demanding cleaner material and material cleanliness starts with what is placed in the blue recycling cart. The County is continuously reviewing opportunities to increase materials that can be recycled from the waste stream as markets and processes become available.

1. Reuse whatever glass if you can (i.e. mason jars).
2. Keep glass separate from your other recyclables and drop it off at County recycling centers for proper recycling.
3. Place glass in the trash.