Glass recycling in Las Cruces was introduced on Earth Day in 2014… that’s when the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) began accepting glass bottles and jars for crushing into glass “cullet” (little chunks of colored glass about the size of a pencil eraser) and glass sand.
Since then, the SCSWA has crushed 1,047,780 pounds of glass bottles and jars dropped off by residents of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.
And residents have picked up tons of crushed glass cullet, offered back free to the community 7 days a week in bins at the SCSWA Recycling Yard (2855 W. Amador Avenue). “For almost 3 years, residents have swung by to pick up copious amounts of the crushed glass to decorate their yards with green, brown, and white cullet,” says Keysha Burton, SCSWA Recycling Coordinator.
The glass sand that’s been produced by the crushing process, however, is not that popular or useful to residents. But now a local entrepreneur has a use for the glass sand.
Tony Miller owns a local company called Clean Blast, LLC. It’s a mobile sandblasting company based in Las Cruces. Miller wants the glass sand and now has a contract with the SCSWA to pick up 10 tons per month.
Only 10% of the SCSWA glass sand is tiny enough for sandblasting, so Miller regrinds 90% of it to be useful for his sandblasting business. “Before this, I was importing special blasting sand from Utah... but the company there closed,” says Miller.
What does Clean Blast, LLC, sandblast? Miller says , “Everything – the sides of apartment buildings to remove old paint jobs, vehicle bumpers, trailers, concrete, steel, aluminum.” He describes his business as super versatile, mobile, and dustless.
“Our goal from the beginning was to help inspire local entrepreneurs and create or support business in Las Cruces and the surrounding area,” says Patrick Peck, SCSWA Director. “The SCSWA is doing something sustainable and beneficial by keeping glass out of the landfill; that leaves the expensive landfill space for materials that should be landfilled. Glass is an inert material; by crushing the glass we give value to a product that essentially has no value, we provide a drop-off only service (so there are no big costs associated with the recycling effort), we give the commodity back free to residents. Now the SCSWA is starting to assist business growth in our area.”
You can drop off glass bottles and jars for recycling in Las Cruces at two locations:
• SCSWA Recycling Center – 2855 W. Amador Avenue
• Old Foothills Landfill Recycling Yard – open 24 hours a day – 555 S. Sonoma Ranch Blvd
Green Connections is submitted by the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA), managing solid waste, recyclables, and fighting illegal dumping for residents and businesses in the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County. You can reach the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800 or visit www.SCSWA.net
Suzanne Michaels provides this content on behalf of Las Cruces Utilities