Tucson Mayor, City Council Vote To Remove Glass From Recycling

TUCSON, AZ — Tucson officials have voted to remove glass items from the city's recycling programs, but the new rules won't go into effect until February.

The vote took place at Tuesday's Tucson City Council meeting and the measure was approved by the council and the mayor, the city said in a news release.

Starting Feb. 1, 2021, glass will no longer be accepted in blue bins at residential homes or commercial properties around the city. Instead, glass items will be collected at various drop-off sites around Tucson.

The news falls in line with the city's Climate Action Plan, previously approved by the mayor and the city council.

"By removing glass from curbside collection, the Environmental and General Services Department will reduce processing costs at the Materials Recovery Facility, while implementing a community-wide glass collection program that keeps glass for reuse locally, and reducing our environmental footprint," the news release said.

The reuse of glass will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the city's sustainability.

Drop-off sites will open up in February and information will be mailed to Environmental and General Services Department customers in January. Glass brought to the sites should be empty, clean and dry, with all lids and caps removed. Customers don't need to remove any labels.

These items will be accepted in blue bins starting in February:

• Plastic bottles, jugs, and containers
• Paper
• Cardboard
• Aluminum/tin cans

Tucsonans with questions can call 791-3171 for more information.