DAYTON, Ohio—July 28, 2015—Rumpke’s unique glass recycling process earned First Place in the Service to Society category at the annual Innovation Index Awards, presented by the Dayton Business Journal and the Dayton Development Coalition.
According to DBJ, “The winner of this award exemplifies a commitment to increasing the prosperity and quality of life of the Dayton Region. Organizations applying for this award must be able to demonstrate how their innovative program has helped our community overcome hardships.”
Annually, more than 40,000 tons of glass bottles and jars collected from homes, restaurants, bars and other venues are processed at Rumpke Recycling’s glass plant in Dayton, which has been in operation more than 10 years. The plant received more than $4 million in upgrades in 2011, supported by a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, accepted by the City of Dayton.
The projected impact of the glass recycling process will improve with continuous innovation. In 2014, Rumpke launched a student engineering project with the University of Dayton Innovation Center to improve the glass recycling process. The cleanup system the engineering students are developing will reduce contamination of the glass plant’s feedstock by 20 percent, allowing Rumpke to process more efficiently, and ultimately recycle more volume.
According to Ohio EPA, about 90 percent of container glass collected throughout the state ends up in landfills. Ohio manufacturers need an additional 165,000 tons of recycled glass, annually, and Rumpke is working to fulfill that demand. Recycled glass saves energy and money in the production of glass containers and insulation. Due to its lower melting point, recycled glass allows manufacturers to use lower furnace temperatures, saving energy and money. The regional emphasis on LEED green building standards is also driving the demand for post-consumer content insulation.
In 2014, the Rumpke Recycling glass plant processed 39,058 tons of broken and mixed glass. According to data from a 2005 U.S. Senate report, this amount of recycled glass conserved 1,640,436 Kwh of energy, 4,687 barrels of oil, and 292,935 pounds of air pollutants from being released into the atmosphere. This glass recycling plant also stimulates job growth. According to data from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 39 recycling jobs and 293 materials reuse jobs are created through this process.
Without the Rumpke Recycling glass plant, 7 million pounds of glass would be sent to a landfill every month, utilizing thousands of cubic yards of space. In the course of just one year, this glass recycling process conserves 84,000 cubic yards of landfill space in Ohio.
Rumpke employs more than 200 people in the Miami Valley and is a DRG3 Green Certified Business.
Rumpke Waste & Recycling has been committed to keeping neighborhoods and businesses clean and green since 1932 by providing environmentally friendly waste and recycling solutions. Ohio-based Rumpke is one of the nation’s largest privately owned residential and commercial waste and recycling firms, providing service to areas of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia. Rumpke divisions include Rumpke Recycling, Rumpke Portable Restrooms, The William-Thomas Group and Rumpke Hydraulics. For more information, visit www.rumpke.com.
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