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
