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Highlands Today

County To Start Glass Recycling In March

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today photo illustration

By March 1, bins for glass will be added to the Highlands County Recycling program's 13 drop-off sites around the county.

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: February 12, 2009

SEBRING - For the first time in seven years, Highlands County residents will again have the opportunity to recycle glass.

By early March, bins for glass will be added to the Highlands County Recycling program's 13 main drop-off sites around the county, said Ken Wheeler, county director of solid waste.

Every glass bottle or jar dropped off will not only benefit the environment, but also extend the county's limited dollars for road resurfacing.

Wheeler said all glass collected will be used in production at the county asphalt plant, which began operation in October as the first government owned asphalt plant in Florida.

The plant has produced about 4,000 tons so far, with the cost now running between $69 to $71 per ton, a savings of about $15 per ton compared to private-sector plants, Wheeler said.
Recycling glass into fine aggregates for asphalt production will drop the cost further.

"It's going to save about another $9 per ton," Wheeler said. "We are hoping to have glass in our asphalt by sometime in April, and the bulk of our resurfacing will be in April and May."
Highlands County has not accepted glass for recycling since 2002.

"When I talk with people, the one big criticism I've heard about our recycling program has been, 'How come you're not recycling glass?'" Wheeler said. "The answer has been that there has been no market for it since 2002.

"But with the asphalt plant now, we create our own market for the glass, and it becomes cost beneficial to use the glass here."

Many recycling operations that do take glass for recycling are accepting only clear glass bottles and jars. The current market for recycled color glass is extremely limited, Wheeler said.

But, Wheeler said, Highlands County's recycling program will accept all colors of glass.

"Whatever color it is doesn't matter when you're using it to produce asphalt," he said.
County officials expect to collect about 400 tons of glass for recycling per year, based on collections back in 2002. About 3,000 tons of glass will be needed for the asphalt plant's projected production of 20,000 tons this year, Wheeler said.

The additional 2,600 tons of recycled glass needed will be supplied at no cost by companies servicing recycling operations in other counties, he said.

"Normally, they're just landfilling their glass now, and the state DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) wants glass to be recycled if possible," Wheeler said. "They're willing to pay us what they're currently paying to landfill their glass, so that we can take it and process it into road material."

Revenue from accepting out-of-county glass is expected to offset the cost of processing it into aggregate for asphalt production, Wheeler said.

The county's asphalt plant, located at the county landfill, cost $3.3 million, with half the expense covered by a $1.65 million state grant for "innovative waste recycling."

Technicians are now converting the plant to run off methane gas, produced by decomposing refuse at the landfill, instead of fuel oil.

"Typically, it takes one and half gallons of fuel oil to dry our asphalt, and the methane can potentially eliminate that cost," Wheeler said.

Wheeler said plans are to reduce the cost of producing asphalt further by recycling roof shingles, which are composed of about 40 percent asphalt cement.

"We're taking it step by step," he said. "Our first step is to start using the landfill gas. The second step is phasing in the glass, and the third step is to start using the shingles."

In mid-October, the county's Road and Bridge department resumed its annual resurfacing program after a year's halt due to budget restrictions. Kyle Green, road and bridge superintendent, said the lower cost of asphalt from the county's plant means resurfacing more miles with the same dollars allocated for road work.

Wheeler said the cost savings will be expanded further by using a larger amount of recycled glass in asphalt mixes made specifically for residential side streets with low traffic volume.

Florida Department of Transportation specifications for paving and resurfacing allow up to 15 percent recycled glass content in asphalt. But, Wheeler said, that standard applies to main roadways and not side streets.

"The mix designs that DOT has meet the needs of the high traffic volume roads such as US 27 and 98," Wheeler said. "They handle a lot of trucks and a lot of weight on them.

"But, we have many local residential streets that may get 50 cars a day and no trucks, so the durability of the (asphalt) mix doesn't have to be so great to still provide 20 to 25 years of service life."

As a result, he said, "we'll be able to put in more glass or local sand and still have a good mix that will stand up to local traffic on those streets. In doing so, we can further reduce our unit cost for asphalt mix and in the end be able to pave more miles of roads with the dollars that we have."

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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