When we were informed a few months ago that our home county, Nelson, would no longer take glass at its recycling center off Rte. 151, we certainly did not feel like breaking out the bubbly. We generate more glass than any other type of recyclable. So not to have an eco-approved outlet for that stuff has resulted in some major distress. It’s as though the waste stream suddenly flowed right up against a dam.
Sure, we could sneak into the McIntire Road center and add our glass containers to those of Albemarle’s law-abiding citizens, but that seems, well, sneaky. I’m kind of at a loss here. Perhaps we’ll save our bottles and build an earthship out of them. (I once spent the night in an earthship in New Mexico, and it was wonderful, albeit constructed from aluminum cans, not bottles.)
Or we could just come up with endless crafty projects like stringing the bottles up as candle-holders on the porch, or using them as flower vases, or—like old-timers used to do—breaking the necks off, sanding down the sharp edges, and using the resulting "jars" along with paraffin seals for canning produce. (Um, probably not.)
Or we could switch to boxed wine and Budweiser.
Any Nelsonians reading, what the heck are you doing now with your glass? Who’s got an idea for me?