Two Milton, GA Teens Bring Glass Recycling to the City

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Two Milton High School students led the efforts in bringing free glass recycling to Bell Memorial Park in Milton. High schoolers Ella Katekovich and Jeslyn Guo are members of Milton High School’s Environmental Awareness group known as the Clean and Green Club approached city council member Peyton Jamison about setting up a glass recycling container in Milton. The 17-year-olds also contacted companies that collected and recycled glass, trying to identify viable options for Milton.

“Around a year ago, we discovered that Milton did not offer such an important practice for environmental betterment – recycling – for such an abundantly used material – glass,” Guo said. “We immediately started our research and knew that we wanted to make a change. Ella and I believed that a glass recycling initiative would not only provide residents with a glass recycling outlet, but also improve the overall environment here in Milton.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, it takes around 1 million years for a glass bottle break down at a landfill. The EPA also states the energy saved from recycling a single glass bottle is enough to operate a 100-watt lightbulb for four hours. “Recycling glass not only gives unused glass a second life, using crushed, used glass to make new glass requires 30 percent less energy than starting from scratch,” Milton Communications Director Greg Botelho said.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com