Repurposing Project Report Final

Implementing
Glass Recycling in Pierce County:

A Recommendation Report
Prepared for:
Prepared by:
Jessica McCarthy
Instructor, ENGL 402
Washington State University
Jade Swepston, Student
William Epps, Jr, Student
November 28, 2016
2
Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
November 28, 2016

Jessica McCarthy
Instructor, ENGL 402
Jade Swepston, Student
William Epps, Jr, Student
Recommendation Report for Glass Recycling
Attached is the report for our study, Implementing Glass Recycling in

Pierce County: A Recommendation Report. We completed our
deliverable on November 14, 2016, a pamphlet regarding recycling
glass and the benefits of implementing a curbside glass recycling
program in Pierce County.
To accomplish this result, we performed two levels of research. We first
examined Pierce Countys current recycling practices and gained
insight on how effective the county thought it was with its current
recycling habits. Additionally, we examined the effects recycling glass
has on the environment and examined a neighboring county that does
incorporate glass recycling and compared the benefits. Then, we
compiled our studies, analyzed our data and created the report.
Our main finding is that recycling glass is a closed-loop system, which
means that the recycling of glass saves money, time and resources.
Glass can be recycled over and over without losing quality or purity,
and in this way recycling is superior to creating new glass bottles and
containers for products. Although there may be an added cost in
sorting and transporting glass at a recycling plant, we believe the
benefit of keeping glass out of landfills and in a recycling circulation
outweighs the minor costs. Because we were not able to get a big
enough sample size without incurring large out of pocket cost, we were
not able to include a local survey in our research and findings.
We recommend that Pierce County consider implementing a curbside
pickup for glass recycling rather than relying on municipal drop off
stations and throwing glass in the trash for the sake of the
environment and economy.
We appreciate the opportunity to create this report and assignment,
and we look forward to any future correspondence and projects. If you
have any questions or comments, please contact Jade Swepston, at
jade.swepston@wsu.edu or at 320-1915, or William Epps, at
william.eppsjr@wsu.edu.
Table of Contents
Executive
Summary
4
Introduction
.5
Research
Methods
...7
Task 1. Acquire basic understanding of current recycling practices in Pierce
County
.7
Task 2. Acquire basic understanding of current recycling
practices in other counties, such as King
County...7
Task 3. Determine Pierce County residents attitude towards
curbside recycling and public collection centers.
...8
Task 4. Assess what changes would need to be made to the
current recycling process to add glass and plastic bags to
curbside pickup...8
Task 5. Assess costs and benefits for collection companies when
accepting glass
curbside.
8
Task 6. Analyze data and prepare a recommendation
report..9
Results
...10
County
..10
County....10
....11
4
current recycling process to add glass to curbside
pickup..11
accepting glass
curbside.
.12
Conclusions
...13
County
.13
County13
13
current recycling process to add glass to curbside
pickup13
accepting glass
curbside.
.14
Recommendation
..15
References
..16
Appendix: A. Glass Recycling Pamphlet...
17
B. Where Does It Go? Seattle Waste
Guide..19
Summary
To determine how to best impact the Pierce County waste removal
service, we were tasked to study whether it is feasible and impactful to
implement a more comprehensive and user-friendly method of glass
waste removal, looking at the city of Seattles service structure, the
cost of implementing a curbside pickup, and the environmental and
economic impact that would occur through recycling more glass.
5
Currently, there are drop-off receptacles available in various locations
in Pierce County for both glass and plastic waste. Though there are
several collection locations, they are not always conveniently located
and make it difficult for Pierce Country residents to transport waste
from their homes. This is not ideal because rather than conveniently
disposing of recyclable materials in a recycling bin through a waste
management service, residents may decide to take the easiest route
and instead place their glass and plastic bags in garbage collection,
which destines the recyclables to a landfill.
To carry out this study, we carried out the proposal submitted on
October 6, 2016: we acquired specific knowledge and understanding of
current recycling practices in Pierce and King Counties; Determined a
general attitude towards curbside recycling and public collection
centers; assessed what changes would need to be made to the current
process to add glass to curbside pickup; and assess costs and benefits
for collection companies when accepting glass curbside.
The main conclusion we drew from our study is that while there are
certainly extra costs associated with implementing a curbside pickup
program for glass recycling, the environmental and economic impact is
more important. We found that recycling glass is a closed-loop system,
and glass can be recycled hundreds of times without affecting its purity
or quality, and that recycling glass saves a huge amount of resources
and energy. We found that the general consensus for recycling
curbside was positive, and the view of municipal collection centers was
less positive. We found that many people in Pierce County will either
throw away their glass recyclables or give them to people they know in
Seattle or other counties to dispose of in their recycling bins.
In this report, we recommend that Pierce County consider adding glass
to their current curbside recycling program to encourage renewable
resource usage, cut down on the resources it takes to make new glass,
save energy in the processing, and to be more environmentally
responsible by keeping recyclable material out of landfills.
Introduction
Curbside waste collection is a service provided by several waste
management companies in Pierce County. Waste collection includes
6
yard waste, garbage collection and recycling through several services.
Specifically in terms of recycling, companies offer pickup for paper,
plastic and cardboard. Within the last 15 years, Pierce County waste
management services stopped collecting glass and do not collect
plastic bags curbside, leading homeowners in Pierce County to find
other ways to dispose of this type of waste.
Currently, there are drop-off receptacles available in various locations
in Pierce County for both glass and plastic waste. Though there are
several collection locations, they are not always conveniently located
and make it difficult for Pierce Country residents to transport waste
from their homes. This is not ideal because rather than conveniently
disposing of recyclable materials in a recycling bin through a waste
management service, residents may decide to take the easiest route
and instead place their glass and plastic bags in garbage collection,
which destines the recyclables to a landfill.
Looking to the neighboring county, King County, we see there is a
different method of trash collection. In King County and Seattle in
particular, glass is allowed in commingled recycling collection
containers. King County finds that recycling glass is energy efficient,
cost effective and more environmentally conscious. King Country
maintains the practice of recycling glass so that items of value are not
thrown away to landfills. In addition to glass collection, King county
also incorporates collection of plastic grocery bags when bagged
together, assuring that maximum recycling can take place from the
convenience of ones home.
Therefore, we wanted to determine the best practice for maximizing
recycling capability and encouraging participation in a recycling
program by optimizing convenience and efficiency in collection
practices. Specifically, we would develop a plan to help incorporate
glass recycling as an easier, more accessible option of recycling to help
increase participation in recycling efforts. We began our research with
six tasks:
Task 1. Acquire basic understanding of current recycling practices
in Pierce County
in other counties, such as King County
curbside recycling and public collection centers
current recycling process to add glass to curbside pickup
Task 5: Assess costs and benefits for collection companies when
accepting glass curbside
Task 6: Analyze data and prepare a recommendation report
We found that that while there are certainly extra costs associated with
implementing a curbside pickup program for glass recycling, the
environmental and economic impact is more important. We found that
recycling glass is a closed-loop system, and glass can be recycled
hundreds of times without affecting its purity or quality, and that
recycling glass saves a huge amount of resources and energy. We
found that the general consensus for recycling curbside was positive,
and the view of municipal collection centers was less positive. We
found that many people in Pierce County will either throw away their
glass recyclables or give them to people they know in Seattle or other
counties to dispose of in their recycling bins.
Our findings suggest that the best method of proceeding with recycling
glass is to add glass recycling to commingled curbside pickup in Pierce
County. The result of Seattles recycling program empowers residents
to make energy and environmentally conscious decisions regarding
their waste and contributes to a community sense of doing good.
Additionally, the revenue that is earned through recycling glass can be
used to help fund the recycling efforts. The economic impact may not
be huge to the recycling company, but the glass industry will always
benefit from recycled glass because it is much less expensive to
recycle glass than it is to make new glass, and takes much fewer
resources to do so.
We recommend that Pierce County consider adding glass to their
current curbside recycling program to encourage renewable resource
usage, cut down on the resources it takes to make new glass, save
energy in the processing, and to be more environmentally responsible
by keeping recyclable material out of landfills.
Research Methods
We began our research by assessing the current situation to determine
what our main focus should be in researching this subject. We decided
that ease of use, overall use, and customer (resident) satisfaction were
the main priorities in our study that would most impact this
community.
To perform analysis on this subject, we broke the project into six tasks:

County
in other counties, such as King County
Task 5: Assess costs and benefits for collection companies when
Task 6: Analyze data and prepare a recommendation report
In the following discussion of how we performed each task, we explain

the reasoning that guided our research.
practices in Pierce County
To get a baseline understanding of current practices within Pierce
County, we researched the current requirements for recyclables
specific to this county. The primary resource we used was the Pierce
County Public Utilities Departments publication Earth Matter,
released in 2012. We were looking for answers to the following
questions and topics:
What type of assumed recyclables are not allowed for pickup

o Glass
o Plastic types
Processing requirements
o Sorting
9
o Repurposing
We wanted to focus on the facts in this section, but also gauge the
opinions of county officials based on the actions they take as a
department through their stance on recycling. However, we did not
want to assume the opinion of these officials and therefore relied on
external resources for determining why officials would decide on one
method over another for the sake of recycling systems.
practices in other counties, such as King County
As a reference, we wanted to compare Pierce Countys practices with
those of King County, specifically the city of Seattle. King County is a
geographical neighbor and therefore the processes should reflect
similar costs and implementation. In regards to Seattles recycling
program, we wanted to pay specific attention to:
Glass repurposing
o How glass is used after it is recycled
o Specific impact on the environment from glass recycling
How Seattle avoids problems Pierce County has encountered in
processing
The main resource we used was Seattle PUDs website and Where
Does It Go? flyer which is issued to each recycling resident in Seattle
to help determine how to recycle, compost or throw away trash. A copy
of this flyer is available in the Appendix B.
Originally, we wanted to distribute a questionnaire gaining public
opinion towards the current process of taking glass to municipal
centers or throwing glass in the trash. However, to gain a reasonable
sample size in the intended area of study (Pierce County) to be
statistically significant, it would be more costly than we could afford
and would take more time than we would intend. Instead, we
performed a few informal interview conversations with family and
friends and acquaintances to determine a general feeling towards the
topic. Though we talk about our results in this study, we did not use
this as a primary evidence to build our recommendation.
current recycling process to add glass and plastic bags to
curbside pickup
The primary resources that we used in this section are reports of other
locations across the US that decided to transition into collecting
10
recycling curbside as well as articles detailing the process. This gave
us a reasonable idea of the steps that might be required to implement
a system if we found that a more impactful system was possible, as
well as a basic idea of the attitude towards moving towards curbside
glass pickup services.
Task 5. Assess costs and benefits for collection company when
Continuing work from task 4,we assessed the overall added cost of
recycling glass relative to the benefits they will provide. Specifically,
we researched the energy saved, the cost saved, the resources saved
and the time saved creating new glass products from glass material in
relation to the cost of collecting glass. It was difficult to assess the
exact added cost to implement a system, but we were able to identify
areas where cost may be incurred.
Task 6. Analyze data and prepare a recommendation report

We drafted this report and uploaded it for review and grading. We
welcome any suggestions or further research or documentation to
enhance the findings of this report.
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Results
In this section, we present the results of our research. For each of the
tasks we carried out, we present the most important data we acquired.
Task 1. Acquire basic understanding of current recycling practices in Pierce County
As we expected, we found that Pierce County does not accept glass in
curbside pickup containers, and no reason was given. Through other
publications we learned that some reasons a county may have against
recycling glass is the weight of the glass itself in a truck, the extra
facility or truck route to take glass to a recycling facility, and the added
cost of more processing employees at the initial sorting plant.
As listed on Pierce Countys website, the PUD prefers that residents go
out of their way to take their glass to municipal recycling centers. The
issue with this is that more rural residents (which makes up a good
part of Pierce county east of Hwy 167) do not have as much access to
the municipal centers. Additionally, glass is often heavy and awkward
to transport in a personal vehicle. Pierce County PUD suggests that in
this event, residents put their glass in the trash, and claims that a low
percentage of glass ends up in the landfill anyway.
From further research, we found that in the US, more than 28 billion
glass bottles and jars are thrown away each year, the equivalent of
filling up 2 empire state buildings every 3 weeks.
12
As shown in Appendix B, King County has a much more open method
of collecting recycling. Seattle allows glass recycling in curbside pickup
in commingled containers. Seattle also allows for items such as plastic
bags as long as they are collected together in one plastic bag, which is
not allowed in Pierce County. Seattle also allows for collection of more
types of plastic, and offers a compost bin and collection.
As a result, Seattle is a very green-thinking city. Seattles Office of
Sustainability and Environment also works towards creating more
green buildings and transportation. By 2022, Seattle wants to divert
70% of its waste towards recycling and composting material. Seattles
solid waste plan is guided by a zero-waste resolution passed in 2007,
and waste reduction is part of Seattles Climate Action Plan.
When it comes to waste management, it is important to not only look
at the cost of implementing a structure, but also the responsibilities to
save our environment from becoming waste itself. Keeping
unnecessary items out of a landfill in large amounts is a responsible
action towards maintaining our water supplies and health of
environment.
Through conversations with friends and family regarding municipal
waste drop-off centers, the outlook is largely similar. Most people think
that it is a hassle to load glass into their car in boxes, drive it to a
facility that is miles away, and unloading all the glass themselves into
the large storage containers. In the case of my elderly or disabled
family members, it is near impossible for them to do this themselves.
So, at present time, most people that we interviewed end up throwing
their glass away or having other friends take the glass back to their
own recycling bins to recycle glass in Bellevue or Seattle.
In most cases, recycling glass themselves presented an undue
hardship on the people we interviewed. Why did it take so much more
personal energy to get glass recycled than it did to recycle plastic or
paper? The result is that it was easier to throw glass away than to
arrange to take it to a recycling center.
When asked about how they felt about having recycling coming to
them by means of curbside glass pickup, the overwhelming response
was in favor of implementing this method. People were much more
receptive and likely to recycle glass if there was a method in place to
have it picked up from their homes.
13
From our research, we found that there were 3 major changes that
would need to be made to implement a curbside pickup system for
glass:
Pierce County PUD would need to agree to allow glass in
the already in use commingled containers
More sorters would need to be added in a sorting facility to
implement the sorting of glass in a facility
Additional truck routes would need to be arranged to
transport glass to a specific glass recycling center, where
glass is processed into new glass products
Since there is already a system in place for curbside pickup for glass,
there would be little cost in agreeing to implement glass into the
existing pickup system.
The addition of more sorters would be to help process the increase of
incoming recyclables.
The additional truck routes would be implemented to take glass to the
glass recycling plants, and would only need to be arranged as a
truckload is necessary, not necessarily every day or even every week.
Task 5: Assess costs and benefits for collection companies
when accepting glass curbside
Continuing our research from task 4, we found that the costs should
not outweigh the benefits of implementing such a system of glass
collection.
Costs include more sorting facility workers, additional truck routes to
transport glass to be recycled, and potentially (claimed) more of a
budget for maintenance for trucks that must transport heavier or more
material with class in the loads.
Benefits are much more plentiful. The energy saved in recycling one
glass bottle is enough to power an 11-watt CFL bulb for 20 hours. Glass
can be recycled an infinite number of times and not lose its quality or
purity. Processing one ton of glass saves over one ton of resources,
such as ash and silica. Recycling glass reduces water pollution by 50%.
The benefits of glass recycling are not necessarily economically
significant for the county, but are certainly environmentally impactful
and important to consider.
14
Conclusions
Task 1. Acquire basic understanding of current recycling practices in Pierce County
From our research, we could conclude that Pierce County does not
implement a curbside pickup system for glass, but rather operates with
a municipal drop off system. At this time, residents are expected to
either pack their glass out of their house and to a collection center, or
throw their glass in the trash. Glass incidentally placed in the recycling
bin is unacceptable.
We were able to conclude that Seattle runs a successful waste
management system based on trash, recycling and compost. Normal
glass containers such as bottles and jars are accepted through
commingled recycling bins, where waste is collected curbside. This
practice is a part of Seattles green initiative to direct 70% of waste
towards recycling and compost by 2022.
15
We can make a light conclusion regarding the outlook of residents
towards municipal recycling centers versus curbside recycling
programs. The consensus we reached is that there is a slightly
negative attitude toward the current system or collection centers, as
this practice is seen as an undue hardship. The attitude toward
implementing a curbside pickup program is overwhelmingly positive.
Additionally, the attitude towards recycling as a responsibility was
mostly positive.
We found that there are three main changes that would need to be
made for a curbside pickup procedure to be implemented. The three
changes are:
Pierce County PUD would need to agree to allow glass in
the already in use commingled containers
More sorters would need to be added in a sorting facility to
implement the sorting of glass in a facility
Additional truck routes would need to be arranged to
transport glass to a specific glass recycling center, where
glass is processed into new glass products
These changes could be implemented with a change in budget and
some organizational changes. If necessary, a small hike in waste
removal fees and prices.
Task 5. Assess costs and benefits for collection companies
when accepting glass curbside
Costs include more sorting facility workers, additional truck routes to
transport glass to be recycled, and potentially (claimed) more of a
budget for maintenance for trucks that must transport heavier or more
material with class in the loads.
Benefits are more plentiful. The energy saved in recycling one glass
bottle is enough to power an 11-watt CFL bulb for 20 hours. Glass can
be recycled an infinite number of times and not lose its quality or
purity. Processing one ton of glass saves over one ton of resources,
such as ash and silica. Recycling glass reduces water pollution by 50%.
The benefits of glass recycling are not necessarily economically
16
significant for the county, but are certainly environmentally impactful
and important to consider.
We drew three main conclusions from this study:
Other recycling plans that are implemented are able to include
glass in their systems with great success.
The costs of implementing curbside glass pickup are certainly
there, as it would not just be adding another type of recyclable to
go to a recycling center, but would include adding more labor
cost, maintenance cost and procedural cost.
The benefit of recycling glass and increasing the practice of
recycling glass leads to economic and environmental prosperity.
By recycling more glass, it reduces the cost of creating recycled
glass products, which makes it less expensive for local
businesses to purchase glass materials to make and package
their products. Additionally, the amount of energy required to
process recycled glass is much lower than that of creating new
glass. Finally, the environmental impact of recycling glass is
much lower than that of creating new glass materials.
Recommendations
We recommend that Pierce County consider adding glass to curbside
pickup. Though there are certainly costs involved with implementing
this policy, the economic and environmental gain from providing this
service are undeniable. By decreasing the needed materials and
energy to create glass, we would make a positive influence on the
environment by lowering our carbon footprint. The savings generated
by using recycled glass will be passed along to local business owners,
who will be able to create higher profits and economic prosperity. The
17
benefits outweigh the costs in more than just a monetary sense, and it
is important that we be conscious about our impact on our community.
Additionally, the revenue generated from recycling glass can be used
to continue to implement a glass recycling system, even though it is
not fully covered, and can act as an incentive.
Our repurposed project, as shown in Appendix A, details the main facts
regarding glass recycling and its implementation. It is a pamphlet that
could be used as a mail-out flyer or an information board pamphlet.
This is a successful pamphlet because the subject matter is one that is
easily comprehensible to people in Pierce County. In other words,
people know about recycling and generally have a positive perspective
on it, so information regarding bettering our recycling system would
generally fare well. The pamphlet is simple and visually pleasing, so it
should be easy for residents to digest.
What we could have improved on would be an action plan, or a call to
action. So far, the publication is an informational pamphlet and does
not provide a way for residents to take action to encourage a change
to take place. However, a more formal report such as this would likely
be a better way to communicate research to Pierce County PUD
officials anyway, so the pamphlet we created might not reach all
audiences.
Resources
"Earth Matters." Pierce County Public Works and Utilities. Pierce County, 2012. Web. 7
Oct. 2016.
18
Ng, Serena. "High Costs Put Cracks in Glass-Recycling Programs." WSJ. Wsj.com, 22
Apr. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
"Recycling Basics." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 6 Apr. 2016. Web. 08 Oct.
2016.
"Recycling Process." Seattle Public Utilities. City of Seattle. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
Watson, Tom. "Transparent Answers on Recycling Glass." The Seattle Times. The Seattle
Times, 06 May 2011. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
West, Larry. "Why Recycle Glass?" About.com News & Issues. About News, 27 Jan.
2016. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
"What's Accepted as Garbage." What's Accepted--Seattle Public Utilities. City of Seattle.
Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
Appendix A: Glass Recycling Pamphlet

This is a sample of the pamphlet we would distribute to make
consumers more aware of the benefits of glass recycling, and
19
encourages local government to implement a more inclusive glass
recycling program such as curbside pickup.
20
21
Appendix B: Where Does it Go? Seattle Waste Guide
22

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Implementing

Glass Recycling in Pierce County:

November 28, 2016

Attached is the report for our study, Implementing Glass Recycling in

Task 1. Acquire basic understanding of current recycling practices in Pierce

In the following discussion of how we performed each task, we explain

What type of assumed recyclables are not allowed for pickup

Task 6. Analyze data and prepare a recommendation report

Appendix A: Glass Recycling Pamphlet

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