Glass of all colors is now being accepted at all eight of Leelanau County's recycling sites.

Clear glass only had been accepted since February 2006. Now, a smaller, separate recyling bin has been installed at all sites for glass only.

The larger recycling bins previously used for clear glass, tin and plastic will now be used for tin and plastic only. No changes have been made to the recycling of cardboard and paper.

“The most important thing we want people to remember is to separate their glass from other materials and place the glass in the new smaller containers,” said Bill Perkins, chair of the Leelanau County Solid Waste Council.

In 2007, some 1,443 tons of material were collected and transported to recycling facilities with 1,204 tons of cardboard and paper recycled, and 243 tons of glass, tin and plastic, according to Trudy Galla, head of the Leelanau County Planning and Community Development department.

The county has a contract with Maple Disposal of Maple City, which collects the materials from the county recycling sites, compacts them, and then transports them to recycling centers.

Perkins said that increased efficiency and higher prices received by the contractor for recycled materials have allowed Maple Disposal to lower its costs.

He said the savings are being used to increase collections, such as colored class, and help offset the higher price of special household hazardous waste and electronics recycling collections conducted periodically by the county.

“Now that we’ve added clear and recycled glass to our recycling program,” said Perkins, “we’ll soon be taking a look at how we might be able to recycle plastic grocery store bags and other materials that we haven’t been able to recycle yet because of the economics involved.”

The Solid Waste Council held its regular monthly meeting last month and heard reports from members on its educational programs throughout the county.

Perkins reported that the council is also considering more “away from home” recycling efforts.

Perkins said the council was advocating the placement of recycling bins inside local schools – particularly for the recycling of plastic beverage containers sold at lunchtime and at sporting events. In addition, the council is working with Postal Service officials to restore recycling bins at local post offices so people can more easily recycle “junk mail.”