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North Little Rock, Arkansas, will be the site of a new glass recycling plant beginning in early 2024.

The companies involved in this endeavor are EPIC Glass Recycling (“EPIC”) and ACE Glass and Plastics Recycling (“ACE”).

An EPIC news release states that ACE will be constructing the plant which will be located just east of Interstate 440. EPIC (an Arkansas based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization) will supply the collected glass.

The Glass Packaging Institute has described glass as infinitely recyclable without loss and quality or purity. Further, the trade association states that recycled glass can be substituted for up to 95% of raw material. One study noted that energy consumption of the glass production process decreases by approximately three percent if ten percent of the natural raw materials are replaced by recycled cullet.

The need to recycle glass is significant since the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2017 that 4.2% of the waste generated in the United States is glass.

The EPIC news release noted that the first phase of the North Little Rock plant will involve the installation of processing equipment to make cullet from collected glass. The second stage is projected to include the production of ultra-lightweight foamed glass aggregate. This material is projected to be used in Arkansas road construction projects. The stated advantage in using this material in such projects is saving:

. . . weight and cost in road construction products by replacing traditional fill behind retaining wall and over utilities.

I understand that foamed glass aggregate has been used in the Interstate 30 crossing and 270 bypass extension in Hot Springs.

A copy of the EPIC news release can be downloaded here.