Giving Overlooked Glass a Second Life
Our local glass-recycling partner receives thousands of bottles each month from bars, restaurants, and individual drop-offs. Many of these bottles are uniquely shaped or branded, and finding a market for them is a challenge. In fact, some simply get tossed back into the bin destined for a municipal Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where exactly how they’re recycled in Colorado often becomes a mystery.
The Recycling System in Colorado at a Glance
- Glass is infinitely recyclable – unlike plastic, it doesn’t degrade with reuse. Learn more →
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Yet in Colorado, only 16% to 26% of glass actually gets recycled — the rest often ends up in landfills or gets downcycled. learn more→
- Unique, irregular bottles, or multi-colored bottles often get downcycled or discarded – many MRFs prioritize standard forms. Read more →
How Our Process Works
We partnered with a local glass-cutting company to create a market for these otherwise underutilized bottles. These are bottles that would likely have no resale value, but still have plenty of potential. For example:
- The green curve of a Jameson bottle, repurposed for Wooded Julep
- The iconic Art Nouveau form of a St-Germain bottle, reused for All Sacred
Through this collaboration, we:
- Support a local business that hand-cuts and sands the bottles
- Cut shipping emissions by purchasing locally
- Divert usable glass away from uncertain recycling outcomes
- Create distinctive vessels that become part of our candle storytelling
Why It Matters
Colorado’s recycling infrastructure is still developing. Not all communities separate glass effectively, and not all glass makes it to a facility that can truly reuse it. Instead of relying on that uncertain outcome, we’ve created a system that:
- Reduces waste at the source
- Incentivizes the recovery of beautiful, odd-shaped bottles
- Gives each candle a second story to tell
This is why the On Rotation collection exists - to bridge our need for creative testing with our desire to build a more circular, local economy around reuse.
How We Handle Stock and Why Quantities Vary
Because each batch depends on how many usable bottles we can source, the supply of On Rotation candles is limited. Some factors that affect availability:
- Bottle collection volumes fluctuate based on what bars and restaurants consume
- Not all bottles are usable- some arrive broken, contaminated, or impractical to cut
- Many bottles are one-time finds, meaning a specific shape or scent pairing may never return
Where Colorado Springs Glass Likely Travels
Most glass collected in the region around Colorado Springs is first brought to a local transfer station or materials recovery facility (MRF). One of the main facilities is the Waste Connections Colorado Springs Transfer Station at 3650 Bradley Road.
From there, glass is often shipped north to larger processing facilities along Colorado’s Front Range. The majority of recyclable glass from this region is sent to the O-I Glass beneficiation plant in Centennial (formerly known as Glass to Glass), which specializes in turning recovered glass into clean cullet for new container production.
Because glass is heavy and costly to transport, the regional system tends to favor local processing rather than long-haul hauling to out-of-state facilities. This is part of what makes our reuse model so efficient—we’re working within the same regional glass network, but diverting bottles before they even hit the truck.
Final Note
Every bottle tells a story. Through this project, we give it another chapter: recycled, cut, and poured by hand here in Colorado Springs.
Want to learn more about glass recycling in Colorado?
- Colorado Sun: The truth about glass recycling in Colorado →
- Glass Recycling Explained →
- Recycle Colorado: Recycling Basics →
