18 - Friday, February 14, 1992 - North Shore News AS I’VE mentioned before in Ecolnfo, recycling is not the be-all and end-all solu- tion to all our waste woes. Peggy Trendell-Whittaker ECOINFO The current problems surroun- ding glass recycling show us why. As you may have heard, the popularity of blue box programs has resulted in stockpiles of glass, especially green glass, that are proving difficult to sell due to an oversupply on the market. But as, the current issue of Reit- erate, the newsletter of the Recycl- ing Council of British Columbia, points out, there are more com- plex forces at work than a simple supply/demand imbalance. While about 20% of .B.C.’s glass is being recovered from the waste stream, there are obstacles to achieving even higher recycling rates. One of those obstacles is con- tamination. While glass can technically be remade completely from recycled glass, bottles are generally made containing only 30 to 35% of recycled content. Fr oe PF 9 & OM a ba ur ENVIRONMENT Greater need seen for refillable glass bottles Foreign ceramic or metal frag- ments entering the furnace along with - glass ‘‘cullet’’ — glass that has been mechanically broken down into small, uniform pieces — create weaknesses in the wall of the finished container. Unfertunately, one defective bottle can require the destruction of the thousands of other bottles that were in the same batch to guard against the possibility of other structural flaws. As a result, recycled content is limited to an amount at which contamination management is most feasible. Green glass is especially hard to sell to glass manufacturers these days because North American manufacturers prefer to bottle their products in clear glass for marketing reasons. This is too bad, because new green glass can include up to 50% non-green recycled cullet, so it lends itself to recycling operations. _ But while only 13% of the bot- tles made in B.C. are green, 26% of the glass collected through recycling programs is that color, due to the number of imported, ‘*green-botticd’’ beverages we buy. Hence, an oversupply for our manufacturers. This is not good news for com- panies in charge cf marketing the glass collected through recycling programs — as of last month, one buyer was actually charging $25 per ton to accept green glass! As a result, most recycling pro- grams — including the North Shore’s — are stockpiling their glass in hopes that the situation will improve down the road. Many companies are looking at alternative uses for the collected glass — so-called ‘‘open loop’ recycling that results in a variety of products, as opposed to the new glass containers that a ‘‘clos- ed loop’’ system turns out. Some of the items that glass can be made into include an aggregate @ Ld "heart substitute, an additive to paint that makes it reflective, silica sand for various applications, and a pack that takes the place of per- forated drainage piping. Many environmentalists are calling for increased reliance on refillable, as opposed to simply recyclable, glass bottles. A widely-cited ‘‘cradle-to- grave’’ study done in 1989 in- dicates that refillable glass bottles are more environmentally sound than any other type of container when their whole life cycle is analysed. The biggest success story in this area is that of Avalon dairy, which has always refilled its bot- tles and is currently enjoying a booming business as a result. Avalon delivers milk to its own customers and bottles milk for Dairyland’s home delivery cus- tomers as well, filling 30,000 bot- tles each day. Don’t confuse Avalon's square-sided milk bottles, howev- er, with the thinner, round glass milk bottles offered in many {CORRECTION NOTICE The Grower Direct advertisement LONG-STEMMED ROSES From $29.99 up to $49.99 a dozen which was published on page 4 in the Feb 7th issue of the North Shore News, had the | wrong phone number. The correct number is 985-7673 We apologize for any incon- | venience this may have caused. oe 3 stores. The rounder bottles are recyclable, but not refillable. The province’s beverage deposit laws are currently under review, and many people are hoping we will follow the lead of other pro- vinces that are bringing in legisla- tion that will support the increas- ed use of refillables. On Prince Edward Island, non-refillabies are actually bann- ed. For a more in-depth look at issues in glass recycling, call the B.C. Recycling Hotline at 732- 9253 and request the February : issue of Reiterate. Phil Millerd of Lions Bay is concerned that the Asian gypsy moth spraying proposed for the North Shore will result in the kill- ing of all caterpillars and mean the demise of the local butterfly population. He and others are holding a meeting on the issue on Monday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre to discuss ways of helping save the but- terflies. All are invited; for information call Millerd at 921-7511. FINAL _ CLEARANCE ALL SALE MERCHANDISE IS NOW This Weekend only Pesbaaats 14th, 15th é & 16th " Ghildren’ Ss Shoes" 2027 Park Royal South ‘926-1