Ripple Glass Celebrates with Street Art Recycling Containers

Nine years after providing environmentally conscientious residents the opportunity to recycle their glass, Ripple Glass is jazzing up their big collection bins with street art.

The first bin of the series features Boulevard Brewing Company, the downtown Kansas City company that gave birth to the unique, private Ripple Glass program, according to a recent release from Ripple Glass

Design by Boulevard designer Frank Norton, it features a cartoon version of Boulevard founder John McDonald, as well as iconic Boulevard imagery. The bin was unveiled the recent Boulevardia festival in the West Bottoms area of downtown.

“Almost 10 years ago, we started Ripple Glass to keep Boulevard bottles out of Kansas City landfills,” John McDonald, the founder of Boulevard, said in a statement.

“The program has really taken off, and we’re excited to have this new bin to honor the origins of Ripple Glass.”

Ripple Glass sponsors over 100 large purple glass recycling containers around the Kansas City metro. The makeover was inspired by the growing number of murals and street art throughout the city.

Plans call for some glass recycling containers will be adorned with eye-catching art and will travel throughout the metro.

Later in the year, Ripple Glass plans to feature on its bins other local businesses, landmarks, and notable people who call Kansas City home. Each will move on a regular basis and will continue to be used for their primary purpose – glass recycling.

“The team at Ripple wanted to do something to honor the things we love about our home town, and we look forward to rolling out bins that celebrate Kansas City,” Michelle Goth, Ripple Glass general manager, said in a statement.

Since 2009, Ripple Glass has recycled over 1 Billion bottles and jars, which equates to nearly 200,000 tons of glass, according to officials. As a result, glass recycling rates in Kansas City have gone from 5 percent to 20 percent.

The program also has grown to serve more than 90 communities in eight states: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois and Kentucky.

All of the glass is processed at the Ripple Glass plant in Kansas City into furnace ready cullet. Most of the glass cullet goes to the Owens Corning plant in Kansas City, Kan. and is used to make fiberglass insulation. It takes 714 recycled bottles to insulate an entire attic.

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