Glen Ridge residents do their part for the environment by recycling glass, aluminum, plastic, cardboard and more. But what happens to all that material after the curbside pickup or drop off at the Town Yard?
Green Sky Industries, Glen Ridge's partner in recycling, processes over 1,000 tons of recyclable material every day. The material is transported to their plants in Clifton and Carteret where it is compressed into exportable cubes that are then sent as far away as China for use as raw materials in new production.
Aluminum cans make their journey from the recycling plant to supermarket shelves as brand new cans in just 60 days.
Glass is converted into fiberglass, paving material or back into new glass products.
Plastics are made into items such as insulation, carpeting and wood products.
Paper recycling saves 17 trees per ton - that's 4 million trees saved per year via Green Sky Industries' recycling efforts.
In addition to conserving raw materials, products produced from recycled material take much less energy to make than products produced from virgin materials. This saves fuel costs and prevents pollution worldwide.
Recycling also saves landfill space for material that cannot be recycled and New Jersey has precious little of that space left. In fact, every ton of paper that is recycled saves 3 cubic yards in a landfill.
In Glen Ridge, recycling is not only the law, but also saves money: $84.97 per ton of trash diverted from garbage collection.
This video from Green Sky Industries shows how cans, glass, plastic and paper from Glen Ridge is processed and sent to buyers as far away as China.
Based on this rate, the Borough saved approximately $98,000 in 2010 which is $23,500 more than in the previous year. Based on 2011 recycling statistics so far, we are on track to save even more.
By recycling one-third of our trash, we can accomplish the equivalent of taking 36 million cars off the road helping us save costs, fuel and our environment. Glen Ridge is doing its part every day.
Glen Ridge Green Initiatives
The Borough of Glen Ridge continues its Go Glen Ridge Green campaign with new environmentally friendly initiatives and the expansion of existing green programs
Town Talk, the official newsletter for Borough residents, is now an exclusively online publication providing timely and useful information in a tree-saving, energy-saving and money-saving format.
The Borough's commitment to these types of environmentally sound initiatives is strong and will last far beyond a single newsletter issue. Current and future programs in conjunction with organizations such as the Glen Ridge Library which serves as a drop-off point for toner cartridges and Girl Scout Troop 673 which has instituted a Shade Tree Protection Program will further the efforts to conserve our environmental and financial resources.
The Borough of Glen Ridge continues its Go Glen Ridge Green campaign with new environmentally friendly initiatives and the expansion of existing green programs