BIG Recyclers is now part of a statewide effort looking at glass recycling solutions for rural communities. We have partnered with the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), which represents glass container manufacturers nationwide. Through projects focused on bringing recycling to rural areas in other parts of the country, GPI has developed a hub-and-spoke model to allow rural areas to economically get their glass bottles to glass manufacturers. Recycling glass into new bottles is a true circular solution. For that reason BIG Recyclers has created local glass drop-off "spokes" in Walla Walla and Benton City, with eyes on expansion to other communities in the future.

GPI's Hub-And-Spoke Model:

GPI has partnered with local groups in locations like Pheonix, AZ and Chicago, to create a model in which wineries, breweries, bars and restaurants collect their bottles in a local drop-off (spoke), which is then transported to a larger collection site (hub). Once the larger hub has enough, a larger transportation company, at a lower cost to each spoke community, brings the amassed glass containers to the nearest manufacturer for processing into new glass containers or products.