Birmingham recycling center stops accepting glass; group looks for ways to continue service

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- For now, Birmingham residents with unwanted glass will have to be creative if they want to keep it out of the trash.

The downtown recycling center run by the Alabama Environmental Council will not be able to accept glass because the company that crushes the recycled glass to make cement has changed its formula, the AEC announced Monday.

Argos, the company with a plant in Calera that had been taking glass from the center for eight to 10 years, told the AEC recently that market forces and a change in the chemical mix forced them to cut back on using recycled glass, AEC executive director Michael Churchman said.

The AEC tried to stockpile glass for a few weeks and also attempted to load it into trailers to take to Atlanta, but Churchman said the center does not operate heavy machinery and the plan didn't work out. The recycling facility at 2nd Avenue North and 25th Street is too small to hold much more glass, he said.

"Now we're back to square one," Churchman said, and that means trying to find another industrial partner in need of glass.

Until the AEC can restart glass collection, the Birmingham area is without a recycling location for anything more than a few bottles, Churchman said. The City of Montevallo's recycling center also had Argos as a partner, he said, and the next closest places are as far away as Guntersville, Albertville and Auburn. Facilities in those cities take their glass to Atlanta.

Target stores in the area have small recycling bins that will accept glass, but those aren't designed to handle large quantities, Churchman said.

"There aren't really any outlets in the immediate metro Birmingham area," Churchman said. "We were the only site you could drop off in Jefferson County."

Churchman said the AEC already has a few possibilities for a new industrial partner, but that it could be months before the downtown facility is able to accept glass again. He said anyone who wants to help them out can visit their website or email recycling@aeconline.org.

"We're hoping this is a shorter term problem," he said.