A new recycling program is being developed for the bars and restaurants in Johnson County, Kansas. These establishments, which sell hundreds of bottles of beer each week - not to mention the liquor bottles they go through - have always thrown the glass in the trash because it was difficult for owners to afford recycling without having a community wide program in place.

Rodney Couey, managing partner of a bar called Paddy O'Quigley's in the area, told KCTV that if anyone wanted to recycle, "they really had to work at it. Separate the glass from the rest of the trash, find a container, find a truck, it's costing you gas and labor."

Luckily, Ripple Glass, a company that collects household glass, is starting a commercial recycling initiative. According to the news source, they'll be partnering with Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc. to pick up glass from at least 50 bars and restaurants.

Jeff Krum, co-founder of Ripple Glass, told KCTV that "Glass is one of the single most recyclable materials. Once it's glass it's always glass. It's a terrible shame to have it go on a one way trip to the landfill." The company estimated that half the glass that ends up in landfills comes from bars and restaurants.

Kansas City is behind the national average when it comes to recycling glass, but in the two years that Ripple Glass has been in the area, the amount of recycling has increased. This commercial effort should further improve the amount of glass the city recycles.

The collection will begin once 50 businesses have signed up to join the program. Currently, 35 are on board. It's nice to know that private businesses are being given the chance to recycle without having to worry about the cost, and the environment will certainly benefit from it.