Arlington, Virginia, sees record volume of glass recycled

Residents of Arlington, Virginia, have recycled more than 1 million pounds (500 tons) of glass at the city’s drop-off centers since January, a trend likely to continue if stay-at-home orders persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports ARLnow.

Last April, Arlington County abandoned its curbside glass recycling program, saying separating and recycling glass had become overly expensive. Instead, residents were asked to drop off their glass recycling at dedicated bins that were then taken to Fairfax County for reuse in construction, building, and — more recently — recycling into new glass products.

Since the launch of the drop-off recycling program, county officials say 2 million pounds of glass have been recycled, half of which has been over the last few months.

“A million pounds since January was impressive, and we’ll likely see another million at a much faster pace for obvious reasons” as residents stay at home amid the pandemic, says Department of Environmental Services spokesman Peter Golkin. “Alcoholic beverage control (ABC) stores are definitely doing strong business, as are the grocery stores.”

Golkin said residents are asked to avoid late night or early morning drop-offs at the residential drop-off sites to avoid loud clattering.