Strategic Materials buys Ripple Glass

Glass recycler Strategic Materials Inc. (SMI), headquartered in Houston, has announced the acquisition of Kansas City, Missouri-based Ripple Glass, accelerating SMI's plan to strengthen glass collection programs and increase glass recovery rates across North America.

Boulevard Brewing founder John McDonald founded Ripple Glass in 2009 when he saw a need for glass recycling, but no nearby facility was able to process glass. The company is known for its purple collection bins, which can be found in communities in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. It also offers commercial and residential glass collection services. 

Ripple constructed a glass processing plant where collected glass is cleaned, sorted by color crushed and sized. Is cullet is used by manufacturers, such as Owens Corning and Ardagh Glass Packaging North America, to make fiberglass insulation and new glass bottles, respectively. Earlier this year, Ardagh Glass Packaging North America, Indianapolis, announced a partnership with Kansas City Bier Co. in Missouri to supply the brewery’s glass beer bottles made from recycled glass provided by Ripple Glass.

"We are excited to bring Ripple Glass into the fold, which includes a talented team, a premier glass collection model and another glass recycling facility," says Chris Dods, president and chief executive officer for SMI. "Solving complex challenges in glass collection is critical for us. With Ripple's proven track record of success, we are confident the model will play a significant role in expanding our recovery efforts, in addition to our current partnerships in single-stream recycling."

"SMI's position in the marketplace is unmatched and their mission and values closely align with ours—it was natural fit to combine forces," Greg Orman, an owner of Ripple Glass, says. "Our partnership will springboard the Ripple collection model nationwide and bring glass recycling to underserved areas."

All Ripple Glass employees were retained by the company, SMI says.