Greeley City Council approves plan to bolster local glass recycling options through partnership with Crabtree Brewing, others

By Kelly Ragan

Those who feel bad for throwing away glass bottles and containers instead of recycling because there isn’t really a system in Greeley – rejoice! The city is set to facilitate more recycling options following a city council vote Tuesday to pursue a public-private partnership on glass recycling.

Though some folks in Greeley use curbside recycling services through private providers such as Waste Management, which can cost an additional $10.50 to $17 per month without options to recycle glass. 

As it stands, no public recycling options exist, and drop-off services are largely scattered across the city.

“I continue to be amazed that we are a city of over 100,000 people that doesn’t have great recycling options,” said Mayor John Gates at the meeting.

At Tuesday’s worksession, city staff presented three recycling options for the council to consider.  

The first proposed a curbside trash and/or recycling requirement, which would require cooperation between the city and private waste services such as Waste Management or Bunting. This option also would require a new city ordinance. No one voted to support this option.

The second option proposed a centralized, city-managed recycling program similar to what cities such as Fort Collins have in place. A 2016 analysis shows the annual operating cost for the Fort Collins system is up to $300,000, and that doesn’t include the cost to build the facility. Mayor Gates and Councilmembers Tommy Butler and Michael Fitzsimmons voted to support this option. 

The third option proposed a public-private partnership between the city, Crabtree Brewing Company, Andersen’s Sales & Salvage Inc., and O-I Glass. The partnership would cost about $12,000 initially, but costs would diminish once the Windsor O-I plant opens its recycling drop-off in the next couple years. Councilmembers Kristen Zasada, Ed Clark, Brett Peyton and Dale Hall voted to support this option. 

Once the third option gained the majority, council came to a consensus to support pursuing the public-private partnership.

How does a brewing company fit in?

Crabtree Brewing Company launched a glass recycling program a couple years ago to reduce its own waste. It expanded the offering into a public service when customers began to ask if they could join, according to a report by The Greeley Tribune.

Crabtree accepts all glass food and beverage containers and lugs them to Momentum Recycling in Broomfield. O-I then buys the crushed-up glass to use it for new products such as beer bottles, which creates a more circular system.

What’s next? 

The project is still in the planning stages. City staff got the green light to pursue the third option’s public-private partnership, the goal being to establish three drop-off locations in Greeley for glass recycling.

Councilmembers also expressed an interest in creating more robust plastic recycling options, but the details of such an effort aren’t yet on the horizon.

*This story has been updated.