THE UPCYCLING COMPANY
We are collaborating with a variety of county, city, community, and business partners to create a convenient network of glass recycling drop locations and curbside options that span across the country. The glass we collect provides a clean feedstock that supports U.S. glass manufacturing.
#RecycleGlassHere
More than 28,000,000,000 glass bottles and jars are landfilled each year in the US — the equivalent of filling up two Empire State Buildings, every three weeks.
WHY GLASS RECYCLING IN THE U.S. IS BROKEN
When glass is collected in single-stream recycling collection programs, it breaks and embeds into other materials, creating contamination and decreasing material value, resulting in large amounts of collected material going to U.S. landfills. Single-stream recycling, which commingles all recyclables (paper, cardboard, metals, plastics, and glass) in one bin, has been the primary means of collecting recyclables in the U.S. since the early 1990’s.
When glass is collected in ‘glass only’ recycling containers, it results in a cleaner glass stream resulting in a higher recovery rate of the glass material.
As a nation, we recycle just over 30% of glass containers annually in the U.S.
WE’RE ON A MISSION
The Upcycling Company is on a mission to increase glass recycling rates and decrease valuable glass material going to landfills across the U.S. Rather than the traditional approach of extracting glass from dirty Material Recovery Facilities and single-stream programs, we collect through ‘glass only’ recycling programs, which results in a cleaner glass material stream. We collaborate with our partner communities (and clients) to provide education programs on proper glass recycling and resources that increase community participation and quality material. Recycling glass in ‘glass only’ collection programs reduces risks and costs.
Our clean glass product can be recycled into new glass bottles and jars or even upcycled into more valuable glass products.
“Limiting contamination in the recycling stream and collecting clean glass not only decreases the amount of glass going to U.S. landfills, but it supports a healthy supply chain for the U.S. glass manufacturing industry. “
– Meagan Huth / The Upcycling Company
RECYCLE GLASS HERE
We are expanding our ‘glass only’ collection programs across the U.S., and our #recycleglasshere map is the main resource for our partner community residents. This tool can be accessed on a mobile device, tablet, or computer to find the nearest ‘glass only’ drop location.
“Our County and Municipal partners typically see a 10% increase in diversion of glass from their landfills in the first year”
– Derrick Standley / The Upcycling Company
HOW WE COLLECT A CLEAN GLASS STREAM
- Community Drop Sites
- Business Glass Collection
- Residential Curbside Collection
- Event Glass Collection
- Flat Glass Commercial Partners
93% of people want to recycle
COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND PARTNERS
In addition to effective collection programs, The Upcycling Company provides educational resources for our partner communities. These include social media campaigns, our recycle glass here map and request drop location form, a content library to support our partner community’s digital communications, and more.
We collaborate with our manufacturing partners to help them take ownership of the glass recycling chain by creating cobranded containers, drop-sites, and marketing campaigns.
Through consistent glass recycling programs and messaging, together we can increase awareness, participation, and collection of clean glass that supports U.S. glass manufacturing.
#glassonly Recycling Program Launching in Savannah January 2023
Savannah, GA — The City of Savannah is launching a strategic partnership with The Upcycling Company to implement a #glassonly clean collection drop location program in an effort to divert quality glass from landfills and support local U.S. manufacturers with quality recycled content.
Clemson Launching #glassonly Pilot Recycling Program
The City of Clemson, Clemson University, and Tiger Town Tavern are coming together and partnering with The Upcycling Company on #glassonly clean collection program in an effort to divert quality glass from landfills.
The Upcycling Company Launches Recycle Glass Here Map
To meet the demand for clean glass collection in South Carolina, The Upcycling Company is collaborating with a variety of county, city, community, and business partners to create a convenient network of glass recycling drop locations for residents to use.