Good morning Ms. Davis:

The Governor's Office forwarded your inquiry to the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) for response.

Thank you for your question.

Glass has been an issue for the past few years not only in South Carolina, but also in the Southeast and beyond. The reason is quite simple. Recyclables such as glass are commodities that are subject to the same changes in value as other commodities. Glass has had little value for years and now has reached the point where it has virtually no value and/or viable markets in the region. In short, it is less expensive to make glass from raw material (sand) than recycled bottles and jars.

Two of the state's largest and most influential processors of recyclables collected by local governments - Sonoco Recycling and Pratt Industries - stopped taking glass in certain areas last year and throughout the early part of 2016 because of the high cost of hauling it to market and the low or no return in revenue. In the upstate (Greenville and Spartanburg), many local government recycling programs have stopped or will soon stop taking glass because of this.

DHEC's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling is working with the processors, S.C. Department of Commerce and other local, state and regional stakeholders to see what can be done.

In the meantime, the state's recycling programs continue to offer many other opportunities. To learn more about programs in your area, please visit www.scdhec.gov/HomeAndEnvironment/Recycling/WheretoRecycleLocally/.

If you have additional questions, please let me know. Again, thank you for recycling.

Richard Chesley

DHEC's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling

www.scdhec.gov/recycle

1.800.768.7348