County : Glass Recycling Bins Appear at Supermarkets

Igloo-shaped recycling bins are springing up in supermarket parking lots around the county as part of a statewide drive to encourage glass recycling by offering a percent of the proceeds to local Scouting organizations.

The California Glass Recycling Corp., which represents the state’s eight largest glass companies, is spending an estimated $2 million on the project, which began in the Sacramento area in January, said Judy Williams, a corporation spokeswoman.

In Orange County, there are glass banks at eight sites, and 25 more are planned.

But so far local response has been lukewarm, recyclers say.

“People don’t know the banks are there. It’s almost embarrassing,” Madeline Hess, office manager at Circo-Talmach Supply Co., the recycling company that will maintain the bank sites and handle glass pickups in the county. “I thought we’d be real active (in Orange County). In Los Angeles they seem to be much more aware.”

Since June the company only has had to empty the glass banks three times. Under the program, a half a cent per glass container or $20 per ton is contributed by the recycling corporation to selected community or Scouting groups.

The Boy Scout Council of Orange County has agreed to the arrangement; the board of the county’s Girl Scout Council has yet to vote. Neither group has received any money yet.

“Once people become more aware that they (the banks) are in a location, people start using them. The contribution to the Scouts provides the necessary incentive,” said Lee Weigandt, executive director of the recycling corporation.

To promote the recycling effort, Scouts will be encouraged to ask their friends and families to start saving glass. Scout troops also may periodically be sent to local bins, said Devon Dougherty, public relations director for the county Boy Scout Council.

“People will see the Scouts there and know that they are involved in it,” Dougherty said. “The biggest thing is that people won’t see just a dome there.”