City considers purchasing glass crusher
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
An experimental glass recycling par tnership might be in the works for the city of Prairie Grove and Boston Mountain Solid Waste District.
Larry Oelrich, Prairie Grove business manager, said it could save the city a little bit of money in the long run.
"It's looks like we'll be moving forward," he said.
Oelrich said the plans are not definite, but he's pretty sure the district will be using grant funds to purchase a glass-crushing machine that grinds recycled glass into dust. He said the city would then use the dust as underlay bedding for paving new sidewalks or roads.
"We'd turn it into what we call cullet," Oelrich said.
Oelrich said that the cullet, when packed in quantity, can create a very sturdy foundation for roads or streets.
"I see us using it for sidewalks or stuff like that," Oelrich said. "If I had some now I'd use it for the skate park."
Normally Prairie Grove sends about 15 tons of recycled glass per year to Boston Mountain Solid Waste, and then money is paid for someone to pick the glass up. Oelrich said the grinding system would not only save the city the $ 300 to $ 400 a year it spends on gravel for underlay bedding, but more importantly, it would save the cost of having to pay someone to pick up the glass from the solid waste district.
Furthermore, Oelrich suspects the city might not only re-use its recycled glass but that of any other city's sent to the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District.
"It's a good reuse of material," he said.
Oelrich presented the idea to the City Council at the meeting Monday, but no immediate action was taken on the idea.
In a phone inter view with the Northwest Arkansas Times on Tuesday, Mayor Sonny Hudson said he sees the deal as a win-win situation.
"This stuff has got to go somewhere," Hudson said. "It's a good use of recycling and anything that is worthwhile as long as it's cost effective."
Calls by the Northwest Arkansas Times to Boston Mountain Solid Waste District Director Thomas Hodges on Tuesday were not returned.
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