So what do we do with over ten tons of glass a month?
How do we even get that much glass?
The Purchase
It all starts with the choices we make at the market. We get our wine, beer, olive oil, mayo, pickles (those are the most common vessels) and take them home. Then what seems like the blink of an eye, we have empty containers that will take millions of years to break down -if ever. Glass is a pretty amazing material and can be crushed an reused forever without compromise.
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The Dilemma
Now we have empty containers no longer needed. What are the options for recycling in your area? Do you choose to recycle? Do you think that you make a difference? Yes. Every bottle counts. Has glass been cut from the list of what your town or city takes? It is often the first thing to go because of the fact that it breaks and contaminates the other recyclables. Municipalities and towns seldom do single stream recycling, that is taking one material at a time. It is the best way to keep the batches clean and without contaminants. Do you go out of your way to look for places to recycle when curbside is limited or not an option?
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This is where we come in...
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The Gather-signing up with BackYard Sapphire
We offer glass recycling services created to suit your home or business' needs. We have arranged routes and a public drop-off to collect it from the like-minded people who seek out ways to manage their waste. Our curbside customers choose a recycling subscription based on their needs. We supply bins and when their pick-up day comes, we pick it up. Sometimes people request a one-time pick-up, you can do that too if you don't generate a lot of glass or have an aversion to commitment.
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The Soak and Sort
When we come back with truckloads of glass, most of it gets pummeled into the sand with our GLS 2.0. The pretty blues and rest of it gets sorted, soaked, scraped, cleaned, and processed for our glass mulch products. We crush those with our 'Annihilator'.
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The Crush
We have fabricated our very own Annihilator. It has one horsepower and can crush a case of beer bottles in less than seven seconds. We sort and make our colorful blends, it's like mixing paints. Check out the photos and our product list.
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The Sift
When the crushing and pummeling is over, we sift. That separates the sizes and the sizes dictate the featured use that glass will have. The smallest size is granular sand, then coarse sand, pebble-size pieces, and beach-glass-sized pieces.
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The Products
The granular and coarse sand is great for bedding under pavers or the base layer for pebble-sized Glass Mulch. The Beach-Style Glass has been agitated for 10+ hours and is softened and able to be used decoratively in a variety of applications on its own or as an accent atop the Pebble blends. This is where mixing the colors gets fun. There are details in 'Products' on this site.
The Purchase-this is what keeps the lights on
The glass is plentiful but it takes a lot of time and orchestration to take waste and make it pretty and useable. Once we have our different colors and sizes weighed out, we put them in our biodegradable burlap bags and they are ready to go! At this point, we as a community have collaboratively created a sustainable product. It's a small circle of sustainability that looks great wherever you decide to use it. Email us to order!