Boost Glass Recycling Efforts in Citrus County
Donation protected
My goal is to raise $2,500 to scale glass recycling operations in Citrus County.
GOALS for this campaign and the future:
- PHASE 1: Purchase a dump trailer and additional collection bins in order to boost collection efforts throughout the county
Dump trailer obtained!!!!!! Lowered the money to raise in half!!!
- PHASE 2: Purchase a larger machine that will drastically increase productivity, safety, and efficiency (what currently takes me 1 week to sort, prep, and process can be accomplished in 1-2 hours)
- PHASE 3: hire 1-2 employees to help with operations and expand residential pickup service.
ACRES of Glass origin story:
What started as a project in the summer of 2022 initiated by my daughter to create tumbled sea glass quickly evolved into a glass crushing operation that far surpassed the capacity of our backyard. In December 2022, my husband and I purchased two pieces of equipment (a GLS 2.0 bottle crusher and an LV Screener) with our personal savings to crush the incoming glass from our neighbors alone. Word quickly spread of our project, and by 2023 we purchased and moved into a new location in the former American Irish Club on Homosassa Trail in Lecanto. We now offer glass drop-off service at this location. During the very active hurricane season in 2024, we provided filled sandbags to local communities and businesses with our crushed glass.
Current Challenges:
The GLS 2.0 is a tiny powerhouse that has helped me crush nearly 50 tons of glass since its purchase; however, it is a small, hand-fed, single-bottle machine.
This process is labor-intensive. Although labels can remain on the bottles, all other materials must be removed prior to crushing, i.e., metal sleeves and foil on wine bottles, plastic wraps, plastic inserts (think soy sauce bottles or large liquor bottles), etc.
The opening is also small, so larger bottles and materials cannot be accepted or must be broken in some fashion to fit. Broken pieces must be hand-scooped into the chute, which can be time-consuming, difficult, and unsafe.
ACRES of Glass Recycling is a one-woman operation the majority of the year (my husband is my on-call handyman when things break, and my sons are my landscaping crew!). I personally sort, prep, and crush the bottles (my daughter does take over as chief glass crusher when she is home from college), clean and empty the bins by hand, and sort the sand for retail sale. With more glass coming in, I just can't keep up with demand.
Hope for the Future:
- Increased efficiency = more time and resources to expand the reach of glass recycling within the community
- More glass diverted from our local landfill
I NEED YOUR HELP!
I truly cannot do this without your support. Without the backing of our local community, this operation will not survive. However, together we can bring glass recycling back to Citrus County.
Why ACRES of Glass Recycling?
- You can trust that your glass is being recycled into a usable product on location! Come see for yourself!
- Over 95% of all glass received is converted into sand and mulch (there are times that glass is too dirty or contaminated to put into the crusher)
- What do you do with the glass sand? Some is given away for community outreach like sandbags, while other material is retailed to help cover processing costs.
*ACRES of Glass Recycling is an LLC and donations are not tax-deductible.
Organizer
Aimee Van Alstyne
Organizer
Lecanto, FL