PORT ALLEGANY — Since April of this year, many McKean County residents have been participating in the glass manufacturing circular economy in a slightly different way.
Glass bottles and jars have been made in Port Allegany for more than 125 years, and Ardagh Glass Packaging – North America (AGP – North America) most recently partnered with Prism Glass Recycling (Prism), the McKean County Conservation District (MCCD), McKan Trucking, and RecycAll to establish a county-wide glass recycling drop-off program.
“We appreciate the willingness of area residents to participate in this new recycling program,” said Alex Winters, Chief Sustainability Officer, AGP – North America. “This program directly supports approximately 250 employees at our Port Allegany glass production facility and the local community. Glass collected in these bins, which is recycled into new glass bottles, closes the loop on the circular economy.”
The program is branded as one of the Recycle for Pennsylvania efforts as the collection, aggregation, processing, and manufacturing processes are all completed by Commonwealth companies.
Drop-off locations include the Shop N Save in Port Allegany; Costa’s Hardware in Smethport; Eldred Volunteer Fire Department; Foster Township storage building; Mount Jewett borough maintenance garage; Save A Lot in Kane; and the Wetmore Township municipal building. The number of bins per each color at each location were estimated based on population.
Within weeks, the bins were seeing sustained use and in need of emptying. McKan Trucking services the locations with a Perkins cart lifter and a Switch N Go box purchased with AGP – North America seed capital. Locations are continually evaluated; those with low participation are taken offline with bins redistributed to locations with higher participation.
As of Oct. 1, over 9 tons of amber (brown), 10 tons of flint (clear), and 1 ton of green glass have been collected for a total of 20 tons.
“These numbers might seem low at first glance,” said Laura Guncheon, vice president, project management at Erie Management Group & Prism. “In a community of less than 50,000 total residents and where the largest municipality has access to curbside glass recycling, we are pleased with the initial rates of participation.”
Guncheon added, “That being said, there is still a lot of glass that is ending up at the landfill. By taking the extra step of dropping off your glass for recycling, you can be sure that it is being remade into bottles and jars at the Port Allegany facility.”
As the glass industry works collectively to achieve a more sustainable future for glass manufacturing, increased recycling and use of recycled content is critical for the AGP – North America sustainability goals and those of its customers.
“Ardagh actively supports and contributes to improving recycling initiatives in the communities in which we operate, and we love when people are so engaged in their communities that they not only see the opportunities, they engage with them,” said Winters.
McKean County drop-off locations require color-sorting, and all bins are separated and clearly labeled. Glass containers should be rinsed with caps and lids removed, and the labels may stay on.
Only bottles and jars for food, beverages, candles, and perfumes are accepted. For further information on locations and a recycling guide, visit www.prismrecycling.com/mckean-county-drop-locations.
