The City of Chattanooga has partnered with New Terra Composting and Overlooked Materials for a pilot program offering free curbside food scrap and glass recycling to select residents.
The partnership, being tested mainly in the Brainerd area, aims to reduce landfill waste by processing materials locally into valuable products like compost and construction aggregate. The program began in October and continues until June of 2026.
Overlooked Materials launched in July 2024, becoming the first curbside glass recycling service in Chattanooga since city government stopped offering it in 2018.
Overlooked Materials Founder, Morgan Holl allowed us to tour the facility this past week along with City of Chattanooga Solid Waste Operations Manager, Roshonda Woods and the city’s Director of Sustainability Madison Rollings.
Holl said his 7,000 square foot facility can process roughly 4,000 tons of glass per year.
“There’s a primary application where a recycled glass is used locally and that’s as and abrasives for sandblasting,” he said. “In essence it’s very fine sand used to clean surfaces like off bridges, off old train cars, concrete trucks, old vehicles. Anytime you’re going to repaint something, typically you must take off the old paint and remove that surface. Glass is one of the more popular materials.”
Holl said all the glass processed at his facility is directed back to the local community, primarily as a construction aggregate, but also to local artists and landscaping companies.
Holl showed us landscaping pavers they made at the facility, flooring tiles that looked like Terrazzo flooring and even cup coasters. He said landscapers use processed glass as gravel and mulch for decorative yards and gardens. Holl said processed glass is safe because the glass is no longer sharp. Some processed glass is ground down to fine sand particles.
Holl said glass is 100 percent recyclable, but has a lower recovery value compared to tin, aluminum and cardboard. The collection and processing of glass is also a bit more challenging, meaning most of the glass ends up in landfills.
He showed us the industrial-sized pulverizer inside the facility used by his four employees and explained how it works. Inside the facility several bags of processed glass lined the back storage area. Each bag weighed one ton. He said a lot of the glass they receive comes from the hospitality industry. He added all types of glass, and bottles can be recycled.
The few exceptions are light bulbs, sheets of glass, windows, mirrors and ceramics or porcelain. Holl said Chattanooga has a long history with the glass industry.
The Chattanooga Glass Company was founded in 1901 by Charles Reif to supply bottles for his brewery and quickly became a key supplier for the new Coca-Cola bottling industry in the city. It was in Alton Park and closed in 1988.
“They were one of the bigger employers in Chattanooga,” Holl said. “Their old buildings are still there.”
Residents living in the program’s test areas can sign up to receive their yellow recyclables tote delivered to their homes.
“It’s got stickers on it that tell them what can and can’t go in the bin,” he said. The tote is collected monthly.
Holl said Overlooked Materials recently started collecting and recycling Styrofoam as well. Periodically Holl hosts an open house at the facility so the public can learn more about the recycling process and the variety of uses for processed glass.
Woods said the city’s other partner, New Terra Compost, helps turn food scraps into nutrient-rich compost, helping to divert organic material from landfills while enriching local soil. This healthy, nutrient-rich soil can be used by local farms, community gardens, and schools. Food waste accounts for almost 25 percent of landfill content and is the third largest source of methane emissions nationwide.
Woods said the program is free for residents in the test area.
- To sign up for the recyclable glass program visit overlookedmaterials.com/pilot-2/
- To sign up for food scrap collection from New Terra Compost visit newterracompost.com/chattanooga-curbside-compost-trial
New Terra Composting also has a list of drop-off kiosk locations which allows the first 250 household registered to participate in the test program for free. Learn more here: newterracompost.com/chattanooga-kiosk-trial
If you live outside the test program area but still want to recycle, New Terra Compost and Overlooked Materials offer monthly memberships to have glass or food scraps collected for a low fee.
Overlooked Materials members receive exclusive access to limited production materials and products and opportunities to bring your glass in, watch it be recycled, and take home sand and gravel made from your own glass.
Membership benefits with New Terra Compost include receiving or donating 10 gallons of finished compost every spring and fall.
Written By Patty Leon, The Chattanooga Pulse
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