5. 40% of What is Received is Glass, But There is Little Demand for The Material

When glass arrives to the facility, much of it is already crushed and in small pieces. This makes the material less valuable than glass that’s picked up whole by manufacturers from grocery stores. In the last few years, there has been a large decline in the number of glass melters in the United States, and “not a lot of companies are investing in glass recycling,” Quinn told us. The glass that is collected goes out to Sims’ Jersey City Recycling Center. Clear glass has more value than colored glass, and gets pulled out of the mix using scanners. Later, some of it will become glass pellets, used below construction roadways like the New Jersey turnpike.