Dive Brief:

• Almost 40 bars and restaurants located on North High Street in Columbus, OH are participating in a pilot glass recycling program, “Recycling on High.”
• The need for the program is obvious: 90% of the 27,000 tons of glass generated annually in Ohio is sent to landfills. ​Rumpke, the firm contracted with hauling the glass, now picks up between 3 to 4 tons of glass weekly. 
• The program is funded using a $37,000 portion of a $1 million Ohio EPA grant. 

Dive Insight:

According to a 2011 report released by the EPA in September of 2013, Ohio is experiencing a shortfall of 185,000 tons of recyclable glass annually. To combat these numbers, glass manufacturers and the EPA established a partnership to improve the state’s low glass recycling rate. In addition to the “Recycling on High” program in Columbus, more recycling centers were added throughout the state to encourage household glass recycling.