The Daily Agenda: Curbside glass recycling makes a comeback
The City of Tucson is working on a plan to bring back glass recycling … Daily cleaning of collection sites is too costly … UA president draws criticism.
Curbside glass recycling could be making a return in Tucson, less than three years after the city pulled glass from its curbside program and moved to a system of drop-off sites.
At the time, city officials said the change was due to a budget shortfall and the desire to better align with its Climate Action Resolution plan. But data has shown that the move didn’t save as much money as the city planned, according to Vice Mayor Kevin Dahl’s Friday newsletter.
The city eliminated glass recycling in February 2021, with officials saying that the glass collected in the purple dumpsters would instead be processed through an industrial glass crusher and the resulting “glass sand” would be used locally to fill sandbags or for construction projects.
In fiscal year 2020, the sorting, processing and sending out of recycled glass cost the city more than $565,000, or roughly $107 per ton.
Carlos De La Torre, the city’s director of environmental and general services, told the Arizona Daily Star at the time that the change would not only save money, but also help the city get closer to its Climate Action Resolution goals that call for carbon neutrality by 2030. He said that the transition from glass recycling to reuse would represent a nearly 70% drop in greenhouse gas emissions.
And while the approach did save some money, Ward 3 staffer CJ Boyd reported in Dahl’s newsletter that data has shown that the move to drop-off sites isn’t saving as much as the city had hoped and the city’s environmental services department is “devising a plan” to bring glass back to the blue bins for curbside collection.
There are a handful of reasons that the program didn’t save as much as planned, the biggest of which is the daily cost of cleaning the purple bins.
“Not only do people routinely break glass on the ground outside the dumpsters, but an unfortunately large number of residents end up using the sites to drop off every kind of trash and unwanted furniture,” Boyd wrote.
As a result, environmental services employees and contracted custodians are having to haul away beds, couches and trash on a daily basis, with the cost of the misuse of the collection sites adding up.
The drastically reduced participation that followed the removal of curbside service is another reason the city is looking to make the change.
“People simply don’t recycle nearly as much of their glass if they are required to drive it somewhere as they did when it was included in the blue bins,” Boyd wrote.
But some people are still including glass in their blue bins, which comes as no surprise, but in an unexpected twist, the city recycles that glass, sending it to a company in Phoenix.
“So, even though the policy has not changed yet, if you won’t take glass to the purple dumpsters, and you’re deciding between the green trash bin and the blue recycling bin, please choose the blue bin and it will be recycled,” Boyd wrote.
In case you were wondering, the paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard you drop into your blue bin are also all recycled, with workers at the center sorting and sending materials out for processing 24 hours a day.
The only exceptions are non-recyclable, single-use plastics, which Boyd said is one of the worst things a person can put into their blue bin, as they can get caught in the sorting machines and slow or even break them.
While they definitely shouldn’t go into the blue recycling bins, they also don’t have to go into the trash. We wrote a few months ago about the city’s plastic reuse program, which turns non-recyclable plastics into construction-grade blocks. Bags and other single-use plastics can be dropped off at the Ward 6 office and two other sites.
We reached out to the city to ask about when we might have the official city approval to start adding glass to our curbside blue bins, but didn’t hear back by deadline. We’ll let you what we find out, but in the meantime, don’t trash that glass.
Poor sportsmanship: Longtime Arizona Daily Star columnist Greg Hansen is weighing in on University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins’ comments about the school’s financial crisis, saying that Robbins’ “callous” comments about firing people and increasing ticket prices “sent a jolt to the school’s fan base.” Hansen wrote that people with mid-level season tickets at McKale Center are already paying upwards of $75,000 over five years for their tickets and that it was a bad look for Robbins to suggest that the UA sports community should pay for the administration’s mistake.
“I've studied UA sports history for decades and can't find another crisis to match Robbins' decree to fire people and jack up ticket prices by unimaginable sums,” Hansen wrote.
More UA finances: The Tucson Sentinel’s Blake Morlock is also taking issue with Robbins’ and the UA’s handling of the crisis, saying the more school officials try to explain the problem, the less any of it makes sense. This has led to many questions about what’s actually going on, who is responsible, how bad the situation is and could become and who knew what when but failed to pass along that information. Morlock says the biggest deficit is the lack of “comprehensive, coherent information.” The UA has until Friday to submit a corrective plan to the Arizona Board of Regents.
Border closure fallout: Rocky Point has turned into a ghost town just days after the Lukeville port of entry’s closure, with businesses shuttered, locals out of work and uncertainty surrounding the community’s economic future, Arizona Public Media’s Danyelle Khmara reports. One local restaurant owner told Khmara that people began leaving immediately after the announcement of the impending closure, with tourists rushing to the border before their only route home was hit with hours-long detours on roads that many don’t consider safe.
Dignity on wheels: A new mobile shower and laundry unit is getting ready to hit the streets of Tucson, El Inde Arizona’s Christa Freer reports. Phoenix-based organization Cloud Covered Streets is teaming up with the Tucson nonprofit Hard Hitters for the Kingdom to bring a 22-foot trailer equipped with two full-size shower stalls, one wheelchair-accessible shower stall, laundry units and an office space to town as early as February. Hard Hitters for Tucson Vice President Sam Nagy — who ran for a seat on the Tucson City Council in 2019 — said the group is currently focused on fundraising and familiarizing themselves with the areas of the city that are most in need.
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Pay attention to the local races
In Southern Arizona, we know the power of community. We rally for our neighbors and fight for our shared values -- but come election time, local races like school boards and legislative candidates often get ignored. These elections pave our roads, fund our schools, and shape the future of our communities. They decide the fate of our environment, our healthcare, the opportunities our children will have. Yet, we treat their elections like an afterthought. This election season, let's break the cycle. We need to vote all the way down the ballot because every single vote matters, especially here in Arizona.
Kari Hull, resident of Rio Rico
Voucher ads are insulting
I am outraged by the Tom Horne ads which often air on the local TV news. They advertise the Empowerment Scholarship Account vouchers and appear to be paid for by the Arizona Department of Education. They are an insult to the hard-working teachers and other staff at our public schools. My grandson attends Rio Vista Elementary in the Amphi district. He has Down Syndrome and has received outstanding services at Rio Vista and he is treated with such enthusiasm by the entire school.
Rosemary Bolza, resident of Tucson
School board races matter
As a parent with kids attending public schools in Southern Arizona, I've experienced solidarity with our community. Yet, during local elections for school boards and legislators, we tend to downplay their significance. These elections directly shape our children's educational experiences, affecting resources, curriculum, and the overall quality of their schooling. It's crucial to break this cycle. Every vote matters, especially in Arizona. I call on parents to prioritize these elections. Our votes impact the educational journey of our kids, shaping their prospects and contributing to the strength of our community.
Abbie Hlavacek, resident of Tucson
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