Falls Church To End Curbside Recycling Of Glass

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Falls Church is set to scrap curbside recycling of glass on Feb. 19. The city is starting a pilot program involving a glass-only purple recycling bin.

Once Feb. 19 comes around, residents can no longer place glass in the green recycling bins for curbside collection. Residents are asked to reuse glass containers, take glass to the purple bin at the Recycling Center (217 Gordon Road) or throw the glass in the trash. Falls Church residents can use the purple recycling bins in surrounding jurisdictions too.

Residents living in condos or apartments should check with their property manager to see if their private trash and recycling collectors have stopped recycling glass.

A city government statement cites changes in the recycling market and concerns with glass in single-stream recycling. "Glass breaks during collection and transport, and the broken pieces damage the sorting machinery and contaminate valuable items such as cardboard and metals. Market standards for recyclable materials are stricter than in the past, and these contaminated materials are thrown in the trash," reads the city's statement.

The purple recycling bin in Falls Church is a pilot program but could become permanent depending on its success.

The city joins Fairfax County and many other Northern Virginia jurisdiction in ending curbside glass recycling. Several jurisdictions have begun to offer purple recycling bins where residents can take their glass. Recycled glass will be processed by Fairfax County to make sand and gravel for paving, construction and landscaping projects or transported to North Carolina for recycling.

Glass taken to the purple recycling bins must be clean. Labels and lids are ok but not required when recycling. Consumer items such as bottles and jars are accepted. Windows and commercial use glass items are not accepted.

Check out a map of purple glass recycling bins below. Find more information about Falls Church's glass recycling program here.