Pilot program could help Edenton recycle glass

The town of Edenton’s curbside recycling program has a big hole in it that the Mayor’s Task Force on the Environment wants to plug — waste glass.

A local pilot project is already turning discarded bottles into drinking glasses, decorative “sea glass” pebbles and garden stepping stones. On Nov. 9, task force co-chair Susan Inglis told residents how the program could offer Edenton another way to recycle glass.

Inglis said residents need ways to recycle glass, which is not accepted by the current recycling program. She cited a pilot program she helped start at the Peanut Factory, an arts residency program on Badham Road in Edenton. That recycling effort demonstrates ways that glass, an extremely durable material, might be diverted from the waste stream.

But first, she discussed some of the challenges that most glass recycling programs face. The economics and mechanics of collecting glass present problems for municipal systems. Most conventional recycling programs require glass to be separated by color — clear, brown and green. It is also bulky and can be dangerous to handle when broken.

The result, she said, is that communities must find practical alternatives to keep discarded glass out of the waste stream.

At the Peanut Factory, volunteers are exploring alternatives to separating, remelting and remolding glass. Bottles suitable for reuse are scored and heated, and their necks are removed, leaving open cylinders. Once the rims are smoothed and polished, the cylinders become trendy, eco-friendly drinking glasses.

The Peanut Factory sells the glasses for $8 and also uses them to promote beverage sales during its concerts. Inglis said another recycling program sells similar glasses online and through gift shops for as much as $14, using the proceeds to help finance its project.

The process also makes use of bottle necks and broken glass, which are crushed and tumbled with abrasive sand. The resulting material resembles sea glass and can be used for crafts and decorations. Bags of sea glass pebbles produced by the program are available at the Peanut Factory and Down East Preservation.

Other crushed and tumbled glass is used to make decorative concrete paving stones. Polished sea glass pebbles are embedded in their surfaces to create decorative patterns. Inglis said the paving stones won a first-place prize at this year’s Chowan County Regional Fair.

Inglis said crushed glass can be ground further to create a sandlike material that can be used as landscaping fill. She said another potential use is beach replenishment.

For now, the effort remains largely dependent on volunteers. Inglis said the Peanut Factory is actively seeking grants to expand the project. She said the organization expects to hear whether some of its grant applications have been approved later this month.

Mayor Hackney High, who attended the meeting, praised the task force’s work on recycling and other environmental issues, including algae blooms in local waterways.

Inglis invited residents to bring recyclable glass to the Peanut Factory, where receptacles have been set up for that purpose. Volunteers are also needed to support the pilot program.