Public Works and Environmental Services Alert:
Glass bottles and jars are not acceptable in most curbside recycling programs throughout the region. Residents should reuse glass containers or bring them to one of the purple, glass-only recycling containers located throughout the region. If this is not possible, glass should be placed in the trash.
Glass creates many problems for single-stream recycling. It is heavy, which results in an unnecessary expense for transporting it to the recyclables processing center (typically known as a Materials Recovery Facility or MRF). Glass containers placed in curbside recycling bins also break during collection and transport to the MRF where the abrasive broken glass damages the recyclables processing machinery. Glass also becomes entrained and contaminates other more valuable items, such as cardboard and metals. Contamination has become a major problem for the recycling industry since many buyers of the recovered materials have imposed strict standards on the quality of the recycled materials they accept.
For years, most glass has passed through the recycling process as residue, to become landfilled waste. Some of the glass is applied as alternative daily landfill cover, an approved use by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, but most of it is simply landfilled with other unrecyclable waste. Glass collected in the purple containers is handled differently. Glass from the Purple Can Club is collected for actual recycling weekly.
For information regarding collection at specific locations, email mailto:Trashmail@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-802-3322 | TTY 711.
Broken glass: Carefully package into a rigid container. Label the package "GLASS" and set out with your trash for disposal.
