Officials with the Cass County Landfill and Recycling Center said today (Wednesday), that effective July 1st, they will no longer be accepting glass as recyclable material. As a result, the green recycling containers located throughout Cass County, will cease to have compartments dedicated to glass recycling. All residents will need to place their glass containers in with their regular garbage.

The decision to eliminate glass recycling was made after careful consideration by the Cass County Environmental Control Agency, and involved several determining factors. Officials say “The most critical of those factors [is] that there are simply no markets willing to pay for the material in our vicinity, and the weight of the material made transportation costs prohibitive.” Other considerations include the need for space in the recycling containers for other materials that are more easily recycled, such as metal and plastic. The ongoing issue of broken glass around the recycling sites also caused safety concerns for residents.

Officials also note, that glass recyclers are not able to process material such as window glass or Pyrex, and any such combination can make the entire load unredeemable, as the glass it likely to break as it is placed in the bins, and the pieces would comingle. There is no environmental concern, however, because glass is no-toxic. It is made of sand, limestone and ash, so there is no problem putting it the landfill.

The Landfill Board wants to thank the residents of Cass County for their continued recycling efforts, and encourages anyone with questions to call the landfill at 243-1991.