The City of Gulf Breeze OK’d temporarily halting glass recycling pickup for its residents after its contracted waste hauler changed recycling venues, forcing them to reject glass from their list of accepted recyclables.
Allied Waste, the city’s waste hauler, ceased recycling initiatives last year after the private material recovery facility in Escambia County that they were using to haul recyclables to closed its doors.
After the facility’s closure, Allied Waste continued to pickup recycling bins, but hauled the recyclables to the Central Landfill in Milton to be disposed.
Since being faced with the recycling crisis, Allied Waste has been searching for a company who accepts recyclables, and has located one in Loxley, Ala. called Tarpon Paper.
The only downside to the Alabama recycling facility is that it does not accept glass recyclables.
The city wanted to keep the responsibility of recycling pickup on its hauler, instead of looking for other alternatives to the issue.
Meanwhile, Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is expected to open up a recycling sorting facility within the coming months that Allied Waste is expected to haul its customer’s recyclables to. That facility is expected to take glass recyclables. But until that facility is open and a contract is negotiated, the city is wanting to do away with glass recycling per its hauler since the facility in Alabama cannot accept glass.
“It seems to make the most sense to stop recycling glass and have Allied Waste haul the remaining materials to Tarpon Paper,” Gulf Breeze City Manager Edwin “Buz” Eddy stated in a memo earlier this month. “The market for commodities gathered through recycling has dropped dramatically over the past several years.”
