Flagstaff Recycled Glass

Where does your glass go? That's a question asked in the winter edition of Cityscape published by the City of Flagstaff. What's the answer?

The glass that Flagstaff residents drop off for recycling is handled right here because it's too costly to ship it to the closest recycling facilities in California. It's ground into glass sand and can be used for many landscaping projects. The sand is free to the public, at the Materials Recovery Facility on Butler Ave.

According to Cityscape, "However, the majority of the glass sand is used at the City's Cinder Lake Landfill to reduce environmental impacts, extend the life of the landfill, and save money. State and Federal regulations require that the working area of the landfill be covered each day. An Alternative Daily Cover is made from a mixture of glass sand, paper sludge and wood mulch. This cover replaces the need for soil to be trucked in from other areas at a substantial cost. By using the glass sand mixture the City saves nearly $3,000 per day on the purchase and hauling of soil. More than 14,000 gallons of diesel fuel are saved and approximately 39 metric tons of green house gas emissions are avoided annually. Thousand of cubic yards of landfill space are also saved each year by the use of glass sand for Alternative Daily Cover."

I think this is such an interesting way of approaching the dual dilemma of what to do with our glass and the need to take care of our landfills.

Kudos to the City of Flagstaff!