The mountain of glass that has been piling up at the Jasper Transfer Station for years finally shrunk last week.
After years of stockpiling, 17 tonnes of broken glass was piled into a truck and taken to United Concrete and Gravel in Quesnel, B.C. where it will be turned into Enviro-Grit Blasting Abrasive鈥攁n abrasive that is used for sand blasting.
鈥淭his is really significant,鈥� said Janet Cooper, Jasper鈥檚 environmental stewardship coordinator. 鈥淕lass isn鈥檛 worth anything right now and it hasn鈥檛 been for several years, so it鈥檚 just been stockpiled out there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting that it鈥檚 actually going somewhere and it鈥檚 going to be used, and we get to empty out our stock of glass.鈥�
The pickup was organized by Yellowhead Regional Waste Reduction Coordinator Anne Auriat.
Auriat said, with the creation of the West Yellowhead Waste Management Authority, there are now new opportunities for regional collaboration that allow for these types of waste reduction initiatives.
鈥淕lass recycling has had some ups and downs over the last four or five years and usually municipalities have to pay for glass to be picked up. With this option we only have to pay for transportation,鈥� she said.
鈥淭his was a win-win. It was really good to show our regional cooperation.鈥�
Auriat said she expects to fill another truck with glass from around the region next fall.
Nicole Veerman
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