All glass that was once recycled is currently being pulled from the Evansville recycle containers and being land filled. According to Tristate Recovery Resources, the primary recycle distribution center that handles Evansville’s recycle stream, they no longer accept glass. However, If you were to visit the Evansville Water Sewer and Utility website about what gets recycled, you might be confused as it falsely claims that glass is still being recycled.
A call to the Executive Director of the Solid Waste District and you would find that Evansville’s non-profit recycling partner has lost its agreement with the previous glass recycler and that we simply landfill it today. This fact was mentioned for the first time in an Evansville Courier news article in 2021.
Glass is a FOREVER substance. It never breaks down and goes away. It never decomposes in the environment. Glass is a substance that we need to come to terms with as not a pollutant but a an object that needs recycled.
It is time that Evansville revisit its recycle program(s). It is time to have a honest conversation about what is actually being recycled and how the changes have affected our landfill space and its limited capacity. It is time that we have some transparency and some better answers with the recycling programs.