By Diego Cifuentes
ADA, Okla. – To celebrate Earth Day, ECU Glass Recycling has announced that, in the five years since their founding, they have collected 50 tons of glass; diverting 100,000 pounds of glass from the landfill.
ECU Glass Recycling aims to reduce the burden on landfills by recycling glass, which takes over a million years to decompose and repurpose it into new products.
In the program’s first year, it collected nearly 180,000 pounds if glass from Ada residents. The program’s early success led to new partnerships with local businesses, The Lot, Pigskins BBQ and Liquor Stache. The latter of which hosted an ECU Glass Recycling event earlier this month.
“We are committed to leading the movement in commitment and obligation, hoping to reach the community in many ways," said the director of ECU Glass Recycling, Adrian Odhiambo.
ECU Glass Recycling advocates for recycling glass to create sand in place of consistent sand mining, which can cause environmental damage. Some coastal cities, such as Tulane, LA, use glass recycling to restore beaches facing significant shoreline erosion.
When we recycle glass, we’re not just reducing waste. We are making a commitment to the environment and sparking positive change.
ECU Glass Recycling has four labeled polycarts located at ECU, behind the Lanoy Education Building; community members can drop off their glass recycling at any time.
Cutline: ECU Glass Recycling held a glass collecting event at Liquor Stache.