Birmingham Recycling Center Temporarily Stops Taking Glass

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2016/08/Glass_Bottles_AEC.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1920;s:6:"height";i:1278;s:4:"file";s:29:"2016/08/Glass_Bottles_AEC.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:13:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-336x224.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:224;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-771x513.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:513;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-768x511.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:511;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-1536x1022.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:1022;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:27:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-467x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:467;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-398x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:398;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Glass_Bottles_AEC-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:3583461;s:14:"optimized_size";i:586686;s:7:"percent";d:83.629999999999995;}s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:57:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/08/Glass_Bottles_AEC.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3555877;s:14:"optimized_size";i:559428;s:7:"percent";d:84.269999999999996;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:65:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/08/Glass_Bottles_AEC-140x140.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:12557;s:14:"optimized_size";i:12508;s:7:"percent";d:0.39000000000000001;}s:6:"medium";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:5:"large";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:63:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/08/Glass_Bottles_AEC-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:4758;s:14:"optimized_size";i:4596;s:7:"percent";d:3.3999999999999999;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:65:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/08/Glass_Bottles_AEC-125x125.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:10269;s:14:"optimized_size";i:10154;s:7:"percent";d:1.1200000000000001;}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Lessie Dingler
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

)
1664336544 
1517384196

If you’ve been saving glass bottles to haul to Birmingham’s recycling center, you’ll need to hold onto them a little longer. The Alabama Environmental Council temporarily stopped taking glass at its recycling center in Avondale last week.

Alabama Environmental Council executive director Felicia Buck says two companies, one in Tennessee and one in Georgia, had been picking up the glass. But that’s broken down over the last few months. Buck says the Tennessee company had promised since last summer to pick up the glass. But they kept pushing that back until the Birmingham recycling center just didn’t have room to hold the glass anymore.

Meanwhile, the bottles and jars are piling up. The center takes in an average of 10 tons of glass a week. Buck calls it the “Mount Everest of glass.”

She says right now they’re pulverizing the glass, and once they make it through the backlog, the recycling center can accept it again from the public. She hopes that’s in three to four weeks.

But there’s also the issue of where this pulverized glass goes. Buck says it has a lot of uses.

“It can be used for mulch for landscaping,” says Buck. “It can be used in construction industry and fillers for paving roads. All kinds of things.”

However, not that many people or businesses in Alabama use pulverized glass. Bond says her organization is trying to raise awareness among construction companies and others to create a local market for the glass. That way instead of shipping it out of state, the benefits can be felt at home.

 

‘I want his name to be known:’ Wife of immigrant injured at ICE facility shooting speaks out

Stephany Gauffeny says she wants the world to know that her husband, Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, is more than "just an immigrant or a detainee, or a criminal."

‘The cases swung, not me’: Ex-Justice Kennedy reflects on a changing Supreme Court

In an interview with NPR to be aired in October, Kennedy said he is "very worried" about America today.

Southeast U.S. braces for heavy rains from a potential tropical storm

The National Hurricane Center said a tropical depression currently hovering over the Caribbean could intensify as it approaches the East Coast. South Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency.

FBI agents fired, including some shown kneeling during 2020 protests

Agents said the kneeling was an act of deescalation. The Bureau investigated them at the time and found no causes for discipline. The FBI Agents Association decries the lack of due process.

4 essential conversations every interracial couple should have

For a strong and lasting relationship, don't be afraid to talk about each other's racial differences — and do enjoy the process of creating a new, blended family culture.

Opinion: ‘Free speech doesn’t work just when you agree with it’

NPR's Scott Simon recalls a First Amendment case from the late 1970s involving the rights of a neo-Nazi group to march through a predominantly Jewish suburb of Chicago.

More Front Page Coverage