Although the City of Houston has stopped offering glass recycling as part of their curbside pick-up service, it announced today that it will add 10 new drop-off locations to help make things easier for those who still want to recycle their empty Topo Chico bottles and Shiner longnecks.

At a press conference this morning, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a partnership with Strategic Materials Inc., the nation's largest glass recycling company—which just so happens to be headquartered in Houston—to add 10 more drop-off locations in the next two and a half weeks. Right now, there are nine drop-off locations across the city, all of which are also managed by Strategic Materials.

"The one piece that’s not a part of the deal with Waste Management is glass recycling, and we recognize that’s an important piece," said Turner. "Right now we’re under a two-year contract with Waste Management, but between now and the end of this contract period we’ll be working on a robust recycling program that will be better than before. But in the meantime, we’re trying to address the issue of glass recycling since that was not part of the deal."

Glass was cut from the recycling deal due to falling prices for the commodity and the fact that glass is the most cost-intensive recyclable material to process. The new drop-off bins will be provided by Strategic Materials at no cost to the city, the mayor says, while any profits incurred from the glass will go to the company. 

The first two drop-off locations, at the Sharpstown Community Center at 6600 Harbor Town and the Salvation Army on 2208 Washington Avenue, will open this weekend. The other eight, which will likely include some HISD elementary school locations, will be announced in the next couple of weeks.