New glass recycling drop-off pilot project endorsed
If Saskatoon residents want to make sure their used glass gets recycled instead of winding up broken, they could soon have another option.
A Saskatoon city council committee endorsed Monday a pilot project with SARCAN Recycling that would allow people to drop off unbroken glass at any of SARCAN’S four depots in Saskatoon.
The experiment still needs the blessing of city council, but it could help address problems created by glass collected by the city’s two curbside recycling collection programs.
A city report reveals 90 per cent of glass collected by the city’s programs winds up broken and unsuitable for recycling. That broken glass also contaminates the other materials collected, mostly paper and plastic.
Coun. Mairin Loewen noted at Monday’s environment, utilities and corporate services committee that the report explains the impact of international economies on the market for recyclable materials.
“That’s frustrating for residents, I think,” Loewen said.
The pilot project is expected to divert 100 tonnes of glass a year from the landfill. It’s expected to cost between $16,700 and $33,400 with money coming from a surplus in recycling utilities revenue.
The city’s report does not provide a timeline for the pilot project with SARCAN. A decision on whether or not to remove glass from the acceptable items in the recycling streams could be made depending on the results of the experiment, the report says.
Earlier this year, the city removed plastic bags and other similar material from the recycling stream because the international market for so-called plastic film collapsed and the contamination of other materials was considered high.
Glass will not be excluded from recycling before the contract to collect material from single-family homes expires at the end of 2019, the report says.
The contract for recycling collection from apartment and townhouses expires in 2023.