It might seem logical that a state known for its bottled beers would be a leader in glass recycling. But that isn’t the case in Colorado.

Momentum Recycling, which opened last month near Broomfield, hopes to change that.

Momentum plans to harvest glass bound for area landfills and process it for the state’s gigantic bottlemakers, said president and CEO John Lair.

Most of the glass Front Range residents toss into their recycling bins currently is trucked from their homes to recycling facilities and then to landfills, where it serves as a sort of heavy blanket atop trash heaps.

Despite increases in efforts to prompt residents and businesses to recycle, Colorado ranks among the lowest 20 states for diverting trash toward other uses, reports show.

Momentum’s $11 million plant converts what was once bound for the dump into furnace-ready crushed glass known as cullet. The cullet will be delivered to Owens-Illinois’ bottlemaking plant in Windsor, about 20 miles down the road from the Budweiser brewery and partners with MillerCoors at Rocky Mountain Bottle Co. in Wheat Ridge. The two plants make more than 2 billion bottles a year, and a steady stream of top-grade cullet could cut their energy costs significantly.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post John Lair, President and CEO of Momentum Recycling, sifts through the finished product of the carefully recycled green glass at the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield. Momentum Recycling is the only facility in Colorado that allows for closed loop bottle to bottle glass recycling in the state. The Front Range introduces 10,000 tons of glass into the waste stream each month. Roughly 1/3 of this is collected in recycling containers either in single stream or source separated. Only the source separated glass is clean enough for use in bottle manufacturing. Momentum's new facility now produces high-quality cullet for use in bottle manufacturing and in other industries. Their primary goal is to leverage industry-leading technology to make glass recycling simple and effective in Colorado. "Recycling is the easiest way to conserve our natural resources and protect the beautiful places we cherish. It also creates meaningful jobs and is great for the economy," says Lair.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Keith Fenley, Plant Manager, walks past fine glass material inside the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Newly arrived glass bottles get ready for the recycling process at the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield. The left conveyor belt has in-process contaminated material that is still to be sorted, in the middle and right are flint or clear glass and green and amber glass, all ready recycled. Momentum Recycling is the only facility in Colorado that allows for closed loop bottle to bottle glass recycling in the state. The Front Range introduces 10,000 tons of glass into the waste stream each month. Roughly 1/3 of this is collected in recycling containers either in single stream or source separated. Only the source separated glass is clean enough for use in bottle manufacturing. Momentum's new facility now produces high-quality cullet for use in bottle manufacturing and in other industries. Their primary goal is to leverage industry-leading technology to make glass recycling simple and effective in Colorado. "Recycling is the easiest way to conserve our natural resources and protect the beautiful places we cherish. It also creates meaningful jobs and is great for the economy," says Lair.



Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post John Lair, President and CEO of Momentum Recycling, shows off the high tech equipment used during the recycling process at the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield. Momentum Recycling is the only facility in Colorado that allows for closed loop bottle to bottle glass recycling in the state. The Front Range introduces 10,000 tons of glass into the waste stream each month. Roughly 1/3 of this is collected in recycling containers either in single stream or source separated. Only the source separated glass is clean enough for use in bottle manufacturing. Momentum's new facility now produces high-quality cullet for use in bottle manufacturing and in other industries. Their primary goal is to leverage industry-leading technology to make glass recycling simple and effective in Colorado. "Recycling is the easiest way to conserve our natural resources and protect the beautiful places we cherish. It also creates meaningful jobs and is great for the economy," says Lair.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post This is the final product of newly recycled glass ready to be shipped at the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield. The left conveyor belt has in-process contaminated material that is still to be sorted, in the middle and right are flint or clear glass and green and amber glass, all ready recycled. Momentum Recycling is the only facility in Colorado that allows for closed loop bottle to bottle glass recycling in the state. The Front Range introduces 10,000 tons of glass into the waste stream each month. Roughly 1/3 of this is collected in recycling containers either in single stream or source separated. Only the source separated glass is clean enough for use in bottle manufacturing. Momentum's new facility now produces high-quality cullet for use in bottle manufacturing and in other industries. Their primary goal is to leverage industry-leading technology to make glass recycling simple and effective in Colorado. "Recycling is the easiest way to conserve our natural resources and protect the beautiful places we cherish. It also creates meaningful jobs and is great for the economy," says Lair.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post John Lair, President and CEO of Momentum Recycling, shows off some of the finished product of the carefully recycled green and blue glass at the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield.



Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post This is the final product of newly recycled glass ready to be trucked to bottling plants at the new state of the art Momentum Recycling plant on Feb. 27, 2017 in Broomfield. The left conveyor belt has in-process contaminated material that is still to be sorted, in the middle and right are flint or clear glass and green and amber glass, all ready recycled. Momentum Recycling is the only facility in Colorado that allows for closed loop bottle to bottle glass recycling in the state. The Front Range introduces 10,000 tons of glass into the waste stream each month. Roughly 1/3 of this is collected in recycling containers either in single stream or source separated. Only the source separated glass is clean enough for use in bottle manufacturing. Momentum's new facility now produces high-quality cullet for use in bottle manufacturing and in other industries. Their primary goal is to leverage industry-leading technology to make glass recycling simple and effective in Colorado. "Recycling is the easiest way to conserve our natural resources and protect the beautiful places we cherish. It also creates meaningful jobs and is great for the economy," says Lair.

For every 10 percent increase in recycled glass flowing into Owens-Illinois bottle plants, the company sees a 3 percent reduction in energy use, officials have said.

Momentum’s bottle-to-bottle recycling plant will process up to 80,000 tons of glass each year.

About 15 percent of the most finely ground glass — which isn’t good for bottlemakers — will be sent to secondary markets for use in abrasives, large water filters and concrete coatings, Lair said.

“We are very fortunate to have Momentum Recycling opening a facility right here in Colorado,” said Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne in a statement. “It’s a goal of our administration to move Colorado towards zero waste and have better recycling practices and keep Colorado green.”