Sioux City Council poised to end glass recycling

SIOUX CITY | City officials are considering ending curbside glass recycling and encouraging people to cash in bottles for refunds instead. They said decline in the value of glass has made processing it impractical without passing higher costs on to customers.

“The main reason we’re recommending this is to try and avoid any increase in (garbage) fees in the future," said city Environmental Advisory Board member Terry Glade.

The eight-member panel in May recommended removing glass from the list of items that can be thrown into curbside recycling bins. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the plan on Monday. All five members contacted last week said they plan to approve the change.

Plastic, glass and paper processing has been offered in Sioux City since 2006. Property owners are charged $1.75 a month.

Contractor Gill Hauling Inc., of Jackson, Neb., sends items collected from curbside bins to First Star Recycling in Omaha. Glass is given to a Kansas City, Mo., firm that makes fiberglass.

Gill owner Leonard Gill said an average of four semi-trailer loads of recyclables are taken to Omaha every week. Each one is 10-12 percent glass, and 60 percent are beer and wine bottles that could have been redeemed in Sioux City, he said. He has raised concerns about the cost of transporting glass as fuel prices increase.

Glade said it makes more sense and would save money if people took advantage of the bottle deposit.

“The main issue with glass is that it ends up being broken and contaminates the rest of the recyclable materials and devalues them,” Glade said. “We as a board feel there’s better ways for glass to be recycled.”

The Environmental Advisory Board suggests the city create a public-awareness campaign about the deposit law and phase out having glass picked up. Iowa since the 1970s has had a 5-cent deposit on beer, soft drink and wine containers.

Derek Carmona, who supervises the city recycling program, said the board recommends partnering with groups to expand the number of places accepting bottles in Sioux City.

“As part of our campaign, we’re looking to find locations around town where you could drop the glass off,” he said.

The change, if approved by the council, would go into effect this month.

Other glass items, such as jars, would be put into Gill’s landfill, with the rest of Sioux City’s trash. Glade said glass eventually turns back into sand, so the impact is minimal.

Plastic, aluminum cans and paper would continue to be accepted.

City officials could not provide an estimate about how much fees could increase if glass recycling continues to be offered.

Jim Redmond, of the Northwest Iowa Sierra Club, said the proposal is disappointing.

“We have worked hard with the city over the years to get glass recycling here,” he said. “Unfortunately society has moved away from recycling things. You use something once and toss it away.”

Unlike other products, glass has to be separated by color to be recycled, creating additional burden for processors. Broken bottles are difficult to process.

Matt Hauge, of the Iowa Environmental Council in Des Moines, said it's difficult to turn a profit. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 13 million tons of glass waste is generated each year in the U.S. About 90 percent are food and beverage containers.

“You have to remember that recycling is an industry,” Hauge said. “Companies have to be able to make money handling the glass.”

The City Council is scheduled to take the first vote on the proposal at 4 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 405 Sixth St.