How?
- Determine your five top-selling beers.
- Demonstrate that your five top-selling beers are sold by draft or aluminum can by providing documentation with point of sale reports or delivery invoices clearly showing 12 months of sales.
- Complete the Glass Bottle Reduction Program Reporting Form.
- Receive a 50% reduction on your next year's Class E Retail Beer by the Drink license renewal for 100% sales of your five beers or a 25% reduction for 50-99% sales of your top five beers by aluminum cans and/or by draft.
Why?

- Glass bottles from bars were identified as a hazard in the 2017 Downtown Health and Safety study.
- Piles of bagged glass pose a trip-fall hazard to patrons and emergency responders during emergency exits, and to pedestrians during non-emergencies.
- Cut bags lead to foul-smelling liquid leaking onto sidewalks and inside businesses
- Fragments of glass litter sidewalks and roadways, posing a cut hazard to pedestrians and pets.
- Last two Solid Waste injuries downtown were due to glass.
- Glass devalues the recycling stream, increasing Solid Waste operational costs. Glass causes $25,000 in maintenance issues each year and is costly to recycle. Aluminum is the highest valued recyclable.
- A full glass beverage bottle outweighs aluminum nearly 2:1. 200 empty aluminum cans weigh about 6.6 lbs compared with 75 lbs for 200 beer bottles. That's a lot of weight for staff to carry.
More Details
- Only available to bars and restaurants with a Class E Retail Beer by the Drink license and are compliant with the Commercial Recycling Ordinance.
- Spot-checks will be performed by Solid Waste staff and the Fire Marshal’s office.
- Bar owners and distributors agree that the cost difference between glass and aluminum is negligible.
- Bars and restaurants that have already switched to aluminum and/or draft for their HVDBs are still eligible for this program.
Print the Glass Reduction Program Application here.
Read the full SW-023 Policy here.
For more information or questions, contact the Commercial Recycling Specialist at 706-613-3501, ext. 7870 or email denise.plemmons@accgov.com.