Mountains of broken glass litter the site of a former illegal dump off Connell's Prairie Road.
But the glittering mounds of scrap get smaller everyday, thanks to an innovative partnership between Pierce County Facilities Management and Public Works Departments.
Piles of glass, some almost 20 feet high, can be seen in aerial and satelite photos
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One of the County's original 'Dirty Dozen' targets, the site became County property after tax foreclosure. When the County inherited the property, it also inherited clean up responsibility.
Thousands of tons of garbage, debris and hazardous waste were removed, but the glass remained a particular problem.
Specific methods are required for handling and disposal of glass
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Some of the glass is too low-grade to be easily recycled, but our project team took the time to carefully identify over 6,500 tons of reclaimable material so far.
In effect, the team found money to clean up the glass in the glass itself.
Glass must be sorted and prepared before it can be recycled, adding to reclamation costs
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The Real Property Division of Facilities Management arranged to have the reusable portion declared County surplus and put the glass up for bid, requiring the buyer to remove it from the site. As a result of the successful sale:
- The County doesn't incur costs to haul the material from the area.
- The glass will be recycled rather than take up space in County landfills.
- Proceeds help fund further clean up efforts.
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The agreement brokered includes provisions that minimize the impact on nearby communities.
Heavy equipment operates during specific hours, the number of loads per day is limited, and noise and dust are especially controlled.
Crew at work with nearby homes in the background
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Real Property specialists Rick Tackett and Hollie Rogge continue to work with Craig Swanson from Pierce County Responds to develop innovative solutions for restoring the property to useful purpose and protecting the surrounding environment.
Rick Tackett, Craig Swanson and Hollie Rogge collaborate on cleaning up County owned property
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Recycling the glass does more than keep it out of County landfills. Every metric ton (1,000 kg) of waste glass recycled into new items saves 315 kilograms of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere during the creation of new glass.
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A spontaneous slide sends shards tumbing down a mound of glass over 15 feet high.
See video below.
| Click on image for larger view |
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| Graphic overlay to show scale |
Video of falling glass |
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| Cleaning up glass |
Hauling glass away |
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| Close up view of glass |
Large pile of packed glass |
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