Cheyenne an example of how many communities struggle to find uses for collected glass

In Cheyenne, glass pile shows recycling challenges

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A pile of glass bottles and jars at the Cheyenne landfill is an ever-growing monument to the challenges faced by many communities that collect glass for recycling.

Cheyenne hasn’t recycled the glass it collects for recycling for years. Instead, the city has been putting it in the landfill, using it to surround the concrete-walled wells that pump toxic fluids out of the dump.

Lately, glass bottles and jars have been piling up at the landfill. Landfill foreman Monty Landers says the city is desperately searching for a market for the glass.

The city is building a recycling center at the landfill and plans to buy a pulverizer that will grind glass back into sand. The sand would then be used in road construction and at playgrounds.