A clear winner? Akron's glass recycling program proves popular citywide

To Anthony Dolly, the nearly 10 tons of glass — on average — recovered monthly from Akron's five glass recycling containers is a sign that the program is thriving.

Dolly, Akron's interim public works bureau manager, said the program has proven so popular that residents from other communities have been using the big purple dumpsters to dispose of their glass.

"So, I don't know what we really expected going into it," he said, "but I think it's been very well received by the public."

Each container can hold between 1.5 to 2 tons of glass. The most popular dumpster, located at the dog park at 499 Memorial Parkway, is emptied of its 4- to 5-ton payload roughly every week and a half, Dolly said.

The others — located at Diamond Crystal Ballfield (2175 Edwin Ave.), behind Spaghetti Warehouse (510 S. Main), Goodyear Heights Metroparks (1950 Eastwood Ave.), and Goodpark Golf Course (530 Nome Ave.) — are emptied every couple weeks.

As part of the program, Akron has partnered with O-I, a glass packaging manufacturer that supplied the big purple recycling containers to the city. In turn, O-I has partnered with CAP Glass, which hauls the glass away from the city's facility on Triplett Road, Dolly said in an email.

Then, the glass is cleaned and taken to a facility in Zanesville owned by O-I to be processed into new glass containers.

The program brings in some money for Akron, about $25 a ton, Dolly said.

If expanded, the project could become a larger revenue stream for the city. However, Dolly said, it's still in its pilot phase and is seen as a service to the community — a way for the city to help its citizens and the environment.

There haven't been any conversations yet about expanding the project, but Dolly said talks are happening about shuffling some of the less-used bins to other areas to try boosting their usage.

From the start, the program has been popular.

The container at the dog park was full in the first week of the project, Dolly said.

"Even through the winter, you know, this thing was filling up once every other week," Dolly said. "So, I mean, it's been a really good program."

Customer satisfaction: 'People are using it'

Cheryl Hopkins lives in Highland Square, near the recycling bin at the Memorial Parkway dog park. She said she was an early adopter of the program and comes to the bin to drop off one or two Acme bags worth of glass about once a week.

Hopkins said she's thrilled about Akron's glass recycling program, something she's been waiting to see ever since the city eliminated home glass recycling.

She hopes the city expands the program.

"Most of the time that I come down here, it is on the fuller side," Hopkins said. "People are using it and I think it would be nice if it were in a lot of other neighborhoods so people didn't have to drive as far. Everybody could recycle in their own neighborhood."

Dolly said most of the input the city receives comes from 311 calls made to alert personnel that a bin is full.

If people want to provide feedback about the program, Dolly said they can call Akron's 311 line, and their comments will be relayed to public works personnel.

Cleveland business brings curbside glass recycling to Goodyear Heights, West Akron and Highland Square

Beginning on Monday, some Akron residents will have an option for glass recycling beyond what the city currently offers.

Cleveland-based Repeat Glass is launching a curbside glass recycling program in Goodyear Heights, West Akron and Highland Square, according to a news release. Residents in those areas can sign up for the service at repeatglass.com/curbside.

"Our goal is to make glass recycling convenient and affordable for Akron residents, while supporting the city’s efforts in keeping glass out of the landfill," founder and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Arnold said in a news release about the program.

Rome Busa, co-founder and chief financial officer of Repeat Glass, said the service is provided through a series of tiered price points.

"Our cheapest tier for a single bin in our budget plan is $7, but our standard preferred rate per single bin is $11," Busa said. "If you upgrade to two bins, it's $15 per month, and then if you get three or more bins, it's $19."

Customers can pay a year in advance or monthly and can receive $5 credited to their account if they skip their monthly pickup or refer another customer. For each referral, they get $10 and so does the new customer.

Busa said that the eventual goal is to expand citywide.

Arnold has done this before.

He ran a curbside glass recycling business in Kansas City called Glass Bandit that he sold before moving back to Cleveland and opening Repeat Glass, which focuses more on commercial recycling.

He said the situation with Akron's glass recycling program is similar to Kansas City's, and that the time was right to try to replicate his success in Akron. Arnold said he was providing advice to former Mayor Dan Horrigan's administration when Horrigan began Akron's program last year.

Busa said he and Arnold recently met with city Chief of Strategy Nanette Pitt and Director of Sustainability and Resiliency Casey Shevlin.

City spokeswoman Stephanie Marsh said the conversation was held so Pitt and Shevlin could learn more about the business.

"I guess our role is, as I see it, is just to kind of work with the city to try to implement these programs where we're needed and where they'd like us to go," Busa said.

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Glass recycling collection program in Akron grows in popularity