Ripple Glass plans celebration

Ripple Glass will celebrate its fifth year in Jefferson City with a parking lot party 4 p.m. Thursday at Save-A-Lot, 1228 E. McCarty St.

Ripple Glass is a 7-year-old company based in northeastern Kansas City, from which its state-of-the-art glass processing plant has recycled an estimated 142,833,089 bottles and jars this year - for 36,000 tons of recycled glass. Part of those came from the big purple collection stations in Jefferson City, like the one at Save-A-Lot.

Mayor Carrie Tergin will do the honors at a ribbon cutting at the collection site, along with other city officials and company leaders. Refreshments will be served, and the public is encouraged to attend.

The glass recycler operates in 70 communities and six states around Kansas City, with operations as far away as Little Rock and Dubuque. Ripple Glass partners with UMB Bank, the Mid-America Regional Council's solid waste management district, Boulevard Brewery and Owens-Corning Fiberglass.

Ripple Glass President Mike Utz explains the success of Ripple this way: "The Kansas City region needed a better glass recycling solution. Ripple Glass is the answer. More locations make it convenient. Our processing facility and partner companies keep it local. It all adds up to less waste, more energy-efficient solutions and greener communities."

That "greener communities" comment applies to Jefferson City, Mayor Tergin and other city officials say. When Utz launched Ripple, only about 3 percent of used glass in Kansas City was being recycled; that number is up to about 20 percent today.

There are 160 Ripple bins around the Midwest. Since its founding in 2009, Ripple Glass has kept almost 200,000 tons of glass out of landfills, Utz said.