Prism Glass Recycling, a company owned by Erie Management Group, is partnering with the Erie County Recycling Program, Erie Area Council of Governments, CAP Glass Recycling and the Glass Recycling Foundation to collect and repurpose glass bottles and jars beginning as soon as this week.
The public will be able to drop off recyclable glass at 15 locations throughout Erie County. “This has the potential to divert a lot of glass from the landfill so that it can be used again,” said Laura Guncheon, vice president of project management for Erie Management Group. “Bottles dropped off for recycling could be back in homes again,” in new incarnations, “in weeks,” she said.
“It’s taking what otherwise would be a waste product and giving it useful life,” said Nick Bruno, the group’s business development manager. Bruno was a co-founder of Bayfront Glass, now solely owned and operated by John Nowakowski. The company also collects glass for recycling.
Accepted in Prism Glass Recycling collection boxes will be all colors of food jars, beverage bottles, canning jars, candle jars, and perfume and cologne bottles. Containers should be rinsed, and caps and lids should be removed. Labels can stay on. Glass will be collected from the dropoff sites, stored in a concrete “bunker” at the industrial park and then sent to CAP Glass in Westmoreland County for processing. The processed glass will be sold to two Pennsylvania glass manufacturers.