Glassman Recycling launches to provide glass recycling in Nebraska

A father-and-son team launched Glassman Recycling and Repurposing to provide glass collection and processing in Omaha, Nebraska.

“We were looking for a business to start in Omaha,” says Simeon Worthing, chief operating officer of Glassman Recycling and the son in the father-and-son team. “We were looking for what was really needed.”

Joe Worthing, president and the father in the father-and-son team, knew from personal experience that the city lacked a glass processing site. Joe also serves as a board member on the Nebraska Recycling Council, so he says he knew the area needed curbside glass collection. He is also president of Worthing and Associates, a marketing firm in Omaha.

While Omaha has some glass collection programs, Simeon says the closest glass processing facility is about 185 miles away in Kansas City, Missouri. So, in the winter of 2020, Joe and Simeon researched and planned to start a glass processing and collection business to service Omaha. 

“With the help of one of my sons and a friend of his, we are biting the bullet and jumping in at a time when most would not consider starting a service business. The only thing needed is people willing to join us,” Joe says. 

The past few months, Joe says he and Simeon have reached out to residents in Omaha as well as to local businesses to provide glass recycling services. Those who signed up received plastic tubs, which Glassman repurposed from the agricultural industry.

Glassman Recycling officially started business July 8. Joe says residents and businesses can visit Glassman Recycling’s website to schedule glass pickups as needed. Joe says he and Simeon plan to check the site daily to download a list of customers ready for pickup. 

“We are working to dramatically increase participation in glass recycling by offering at-home and business pickups,” Joe says. “We call them ‘grabs.’ We know so many people who want to recycle glass and hate throwing it away, but the current options are cumbersome and inefficient at best and wasteful at worst because most don’t want to store it and then take it to a dump station only to have it trucked to Kansas City.” 

The new business is processing glass back into sand. Simeon adds that the company purchased a glass crusher to process glass from its facility in Bellevue, Nebraska. “Once we get the glass, we separate by color and crush it,” he says.

Glassman Recycling charges $35 per year to register for the recycling program as well as $20 per pickup without any monthly fees.