Pat Herrity is the lone Republican on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and the Springfield District supervisor has spent years proving that common-sense governance still has a voice in the room. Back in 2019, he led the effort that pulled glass out of single-stream recycling and stood up the Purple Can Club after touring the facilities himself and finding the county’s glass was quietly being landfilled instead of recycled.

Seven years later, the technology has caught up, so he toured the new facilities again — and now he’s leading the practical move back to convenient curbside glass recycling. It’s a win for residents, a win for the environment, and a win for taxpayers’ wallets. His August 2026 Herrity Report on the return to curbside glass is reprinted below.

From the August 2026 Herrity Report

Time to Resume Recycling Glass Curbside
By Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) — August 12, 2026

In 2019, I went on a tour of American Disposal’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Manassas to see first-hand where much of the County’s single-stream recycling (items in your curb side recycling bin) was going in order to both learn about the process and see what was actually being recycled. I learned that, at the time, glass was a major problem when collected single-stream and the glass was being landfilled and not recycled. I helped lead the effort to remove glass from single-stream collection and to create the Purple Can Club glass recycling program. Fast forward to my tour this summer of Waste Management’s new, state of the art, MRF in Elkridge, Maryland and it is clear how much has changed in single-stream recycling. Not only is glass effectively and efficiently separated, but because of advances in processing the separated glass, there is now a vibrant market for recycled glass. The technological advances in both the processing and use of recycled glass mean it is time to move back to more convenient single stream-glass recycling and phase out the Purple Can Club and the associated costs.

Brief History. In 2019, glass collected single-stream in curb-side recycling bins was a major problem for a number of reasons:

• There was no market for the glass so it was being landfilled
• It contaminated the other recyclable materials
• The resulting glass dust (sand) was a problem for some of the equipment

County staff were reluctant to pull glass out of single stream because the weight inflated our recycling numbers, even though it was not being recycled. A program called the Purple Can Club was founded to allow residents the opportunity to recycle glass in roll off dumpsters. County staff was successful in developing several markets for the glass collected in the Purple Cans, including use in roadbeds. The Purple Can Club has been extremely popular, but residents regularly express to me a desire to return to more convenient single-stream glass collection.

Single-Stream Technology Changes. I was impressed with how far recycling technology has come during my tour of Waste Management’s new facility in Elkridge, MD this summer. Not only have they increased the speed and the quality of the process but they have reduced the processing cost. The facility can process 685 tons of recycling material a day using two lines. Glass is pulled out at the front of the process and no longer presents a challenge to the machinery or other recyclables. While glass and plastic bags were the biggest challenge to the machinery in 2019, it is now clearly batteries. Waste Management has had to install fire detection and firefighting stations throughout the lines to catch and deal with battery fires before they become bigger issues. Please do not throw plastic bags or anything that includes batteries in recycle bins.

Change in Market for Glass Recycling. While in Elkridge I went next door to visit Cap Glass’s Transfer Facility. Cap Glass is the company that actually recycles the glass from both the Waste Management facility and Fairfax County’s Purple Cans. Vastly different from 2019, the glass brought here is not going to landfills but is being recycled into everything from Heineken and Yuengling bottles to mason jars, after being sorted by color. The glass not able to be used for these purposes is crushed to make sand for high-quality filters. Because it is processed, this sand has many advantages over actual sand. I spoke to senior executives at Republic, the other major MRF serving Fairfax County residents and they have signed a contract beginning January 1 to have glass received at their facility recycled into products instead of being used as landfill cover as it currently is being used. As a result, almost all the glass that goes into your curbside single-stream recycle bin will be truly recycled into products.

Reasons to Change Glass Back to Single-Stream. There are many reasons for the County to return glass to single-stream and phase out the Purple Can Club.

• Many providers are already offering residents the opportunity to recycle glass single-stream despite the County’s current guidance to not do so – these include Evergreen and other haulers that take their recyclables to Waste Management. You can check on your hauler’s website for guidance.
• Many of our residents do not take glass to the Purple Cans and follow the County’s guidance not to put glass in the single stream curbside recycling bin. Changing this guidance will significantly increase the amount of glass recycled in Fairfax County.
• Curbside single-stream recycling is more convenient for our residents. Those taking glass to the Purple Cans will still recycle single-stream so there should be no net reduction of glass being recycled with the elimination of the Purple Can collection bins.
• Will save the county money given the fiscal challenges in solid waste disposal – see below.
• The other major MRF will begin recycling rather than landfilling glass on 1/1/2027. As a result, almost all of glass that goes into your curbside single-stream recycle bin will be truly recycled into products.

County staff, the Board, and I are proud of what the Purple Can Club has accomplished in the last seven years, but it is time to return glass to single-stream curbside recycling. At our August 25 meeting, I will be asking the Board of Supervisors to direct staff to consider changing our county-wide guidance on recycling glass single-stream and develop a transition plan away from the Purple Can Club for presentation to the Board. This will be a win for the environment and taxpayers’ wallets while being more convenient for residents.

Common Sense Still Has a Seat at the Table

This is what steady, common-sense representation looks like: a supervisor who tours the facilities himself, checks whether taxpayers are actually getting what they pay for, and brings a practical fix back to the Board. No slogans, no waste — just a better deal for the residents footing the bill.

Pat Herrity sends the Herrity Report directly to residents throughout the year — the budget fights, the public-safety votes, and the constituent-service updates you won’t find anywhere else. Sign up to get the Herrity Report straight to your inbox at patforva.com — and forward this one to a neighbor who’s tired of paying more for less in Fairfax County.