Alpharetta will end its curbside pickup for glass recycling on Aug. 12.
The city has not yet found another option for glass recycling for residents, Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard said on Monday.
City Council decided to end its contract for glass recycling with Republic Services during a meeting held on July 11, and approved giving the company a 30-day notice. Its weekly pick-up service is inconsistent often due to a shortage of drivers, officials say.
About 17,000 Alpharetta residences pay for the pick-up of trash, yard waste and regular and glass recycling. Only 20% to 30% of those homes use the glass collection portion of the program, according to the city.
The glass recycling program costs residents $4.19 per month.
Residents who made their annual or quarterly payment for the glass program at the start of the fiscal year on July 1 will receive refunds, Alpharetta Finance Director Tom Harris said.
Officials have been unsuccessful so far in finding an alternative to Republic Services. Alpharetta wanted to partner with Roswell which has a recycling center on Maxwell Road, however the cities couldn’t agree on a cost, officials said.
During the July City Council meeting, Councilman Dan Merkel said the vote is only to end a service that is not working for Alpharetta. “It is not a vote to discontinue recycling of glass,” he said.
Glass in Alpharetta’s recycled program goes to Strategic Materials in College Park. Eugene Moreland, a manager with the company, told council members its used in building materials throughout Georgia.
According to Earth911, an online database of recycling information, a bottle can be recycled and back on store shelves in 30 days.
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