[greenyes] RE: alternative glass markets

["DONNAWAY Jay" <Donnaway.Jay@no.address>]

John, I know that you've dealt with this before, but surely your public
works department wouldn't charge $19.50 a ton to accept aggregate?
There are several high-priced machines on the market that produce
engineered aggregate from mixed glass, which is useful for pipe bedding,
glassphalt, etc., but I used the following 'free' method with great
success while managing a rural MRF.  Keep in mind folks, that though
using glass aggregate may not close the loop, but it provides many
environmental benefits through reduced energy use and the avoided
impacts of mining and landfilling.  

DIRECTIONS:
In preparation for asphalt paving or pouring a new slab, compress
'whole' bottles into wet ground using a sheepsfoot roller or solid wheel
loader (tracked vehicles are less effective).  Repeat until acceptable
yield tests are achieved. If native soil has neither clay nor chalk,
incorporate some Portland cement.  

- By using whole bottles and a roller, the bottles break into irregular
pieces against each other, which "lock together", while voids are filled
with compressed soil.  With this method, I took an undrainable pan of
Yazoo clay in which a backhoe got hopelessly stuck, and produced a
subgrade so firm that we operated cushion-tire forklifts on the pad for
several months before sufficient pennies were accumulated to pour
concrete.  The 4" slab then served for bale storage and handling for
several years without cracks or shifting before I left.

If you've ever driven on processed glass aggregate, you'll know that
it's just like sprinting in sand.  Rolled-in-place glass aggregate
doesn't yield, it gives great traction, and does not often produce flat
tires (unlike crusher-run limestone, but pave over the glass before it's
ground into silica dust).  

Enjoy,
Jay Donnaway
Oregon DEQ


Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 08:27:26 -0600 
To: 'Gary Liss' <gary@no.address>, greenyes@no.address
From: "Reindl, John" <Reindl@no.address>
Subject: Glass recycling price drops here too
Message-ID: <1AE676D5B7BB9C479D08D9278C6DFB5488FD10@no.address>

As in New Zealand, the price being paid for glass in Wisconsin is also
dropping. For example, CRA has announced a reduction in prices to our
MRF to the following:

	Clear		$4.50 a ton
	Brown		$3.50 a ton
	Green		negative $8.50 a ton
	Mixed		negative $19.50 a ton

This is the third price decrease this year and is due in part to
increased transportation cost from higher diesel prices and I foresee
that the price will decline in the future as well. 

Users of our MRF pay approximately $70 a ton to have their glass
processed and then receive 80% of the value of the glass or pay 80% of
the cost to market it, so the net cost of recycling glass at our MRF is
on the order of $65 to $85 a ton. Added to that would be any marginal
costs of collection. 

I see a need to improve the economics. I would invite suggestions from
others on this.

John Reindl, Recycling Manager
Dane County, WI