Fee impasse stalls glass recycling in Alpharetta

Citing stalled negotiations between the city and its waste collector, Alpharetta on recently advised residents to temporarily stop putting glass in their recycling bins – warning that any glass in a bin would send the load to a landfill.

For now, residents should just chuck glass into their regular garbage, or take it to a recycling facility that accepts glass, such as the Roswell Recycling Center, according to Assistant City Administrator James Drinkard. However, it’s expected negotiations will successfully conclude this month, and curbside glass recycling can resume in July.

Commercial recyclers earlier this year stopped accepting glass mixed in with other recyclables. In April, the Alpharetta City Council voted to continue curbside glass recycling, which could entail separate containers for glass and higher fees for residents — as much as $3 a month, “but we think we can get a lower price,” Drinkard said. “The negotiations are delaying the launch of the glass recycling program.”