Better in Belize is an eco-community dedicated to living in ways that are less damaging to the environment than those of typical housing developments. So it has been a constant source of frustration to many homeowners to not have a consistent place or way to recycle glass (among other things).
Bottle Eaters to the rescue! This company collects empty glass bottles from hotels, hostels, cruise ships, bottling companies (broken during bottling), and collection points all over Belize, producing tons of crushed glass monthly.
Bottle Eaters recycles 99% of what they receive (labels on the bottles/jars are the 1% that gets tossed) and generally within thirty days cast-off glass bottles have turned into new bottles or products. Plastic and aluminum rum bottle lids are also recycled. The glass bottles are separated according to color, then broken and ground into various sizes, from sand to ¾” size chunks.
An interview with the owner, Graham Herbert, was an eye-opener. He ran his hand through a sample bin of crushed glass particles saying “This is smooth and soft enough for a baby to lie on.”
He gestured to shelves stacked with tubs full of various sized chunks of blue, green, white and brown crushed glass, which glowed like jewels.
“Eighty-five percent of the glass we receive gets crushed and exported to Guatemala and CARICOM [the Caribbean Island Common Market] to be made back into bottles and jars. The fifteen percent that stays in Belize is packaged for the craft market or is mixed with concrete to make things like landscape stepping stones.” I could see how the colorful transparent chunks would make a striking addition to a walkway or bathroom floor.
I asked about a shelf holding clean rum bottles, and smaller bottles. “We sell those to people who bottle honey, rum popo, and other things,” he said.
“Now this,” he pointed to a couple of containers that appeared to be full of sand, “is used in swimming pool filters.” He explained that glass sand is better than the silica sand commonly used in filters, because it lasts much longer – 4-6 years – is less expensive and is environmentally safer. It is apparent that Bottle Eaters has done the research to find buyers for just about everything crushed glass can be used for.
Linda and Doug DeGirolamo have put out a crocus bag in which we’ve been collecting glass for him at BIB (crocus bags are those are those big white woven-plastic bags commonly used here in Belize for carrying crops to market).
He showed me sample Bottle Bins that Bottle Eaters has ordered, and said Georgette Mink from BIB will soon host a bottle bin at Toucan House when the bins arrive (slowed by Covid, apparently). “And anyone can drop off bags of bottles at our French Bakery drop-off site, across the street from the market in San Ignacio,” he added.
And at Better in Belize, we have two very convenient places to recycle our bottles and jars — the Garden Share Shed and Toucan House. A big shout-out of thanks to Bottle Eaters for helping us be good earth stewards.