Does anyone have or know a source of any info regarding glass bottle washing
machines that can be used to re-sterilize bottles of various sizes (heights
and shapes)? I am especially interested in a machine that could wash more
smaller bottles (e.g., microbrew beer)in the same amount of time and with the
same usage of caustic solution that are used to wash a smaller number of
larger bottles (e.g. wine and champagne).
Also, does anyone have or know the source of any concrete info on whether a
separate sorter or two could be put on MRF line sorting food and beverage
containers collected on a residential curbside route and expect to recover
enough reusable wine and other bottles to pay for these extra sorters? How
about any info on the types of containers the sorters assigned solely to
picking out reusable bottles would need to use to put the bottles in so that
they didn't break or scratch or chip the bottles. I.e., so that the bottles
could be re-sterilized and sold to bottlers interested in reusing bottles in
place of buying new bottles.
There is a coalition of folks attempting to put together a non-profit,
community-based bottle re-sterilization operation in a low-income, central
Seattle community to serve the twin goals of waste prevention/reuse and
economic redevelopment. THis information would be quite useful to us.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer!
Jeffrey Morris
Ph.D.-Economics
Northwest Materials Reuse
P.S. Some of you may also know me as president of Sound Resource Management
and advocate of a zero waste goal for Washington state, and elsewhere for
that matter as well.