Waste-hauling costs are increasing and recycling policies are becoming stricter. Apartment operators are seeing the effects and are taking a variety of steps to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In Part 13 of this 13-part, in-depth report, we explain how recycled glass has little resale value.

Here’s what happened when cities stopped accepting glass as a recyclable.

It’s funny what can happen when a local area decides it no longer will accept glass into its recycling stream. That’s what happened in parts of Tennessee. The result: Consumer drop-offs of glass surged, reports The Shelton Group.

Cities and counties in many states announced in 2018 they would no longer accept glass because of economic reasons: There was simply not a good resale market for the glass and recycling facilities were losing money by processing it. Among them were areas of Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Canada.

Knoxville, Tenn., for example, stopped accepting glass in their curbside programs as of last January 2017 and required glass to be dropped off at locations scattered around the city.

During the first month of glass being harder to recycle, the amount taken to the drop-off centers surged. The curbside vs. drop-off rule change had been well publicized, so glass recycling was on people’s minds.

Many figured that most residents would cease to make the extra effort as news coverage faded away and the need for convenience kicked back in. Here’s where things get interesting

The amount of glass taken to drop-off centers stayed high during the entire first half of 2017.

While the actual amount has varied from month to month, the average amount of glass taken to the drop-off centers from January to July was 48.28 tons per month.

“Compare this to the average monthly amount during 2016 (28 tons of glass/month) and see that Knoxvillians are taking the extra step!” Rachel Butzler, Solid Waste Manager for the City of Knoxville, wrote.

This nearly 75 percent increase suggests that curbside recyclers are, in fact, taking the time and effort to drop off their glass recycling. The city did the math to make sure these numbers weren’t caused by more recycling overall being taken to the drop-off centers. In fact, non-glass recyclables had decreased at the drop-off centers, which the Solid Waste Office attributed to a recent participation increase in the city’s curbside program.