Although there are no town ordinances in place, an Orange County official says Chapel Hill's bar scene deserves a gold star for its focus on recycling.
Most local bars participate in the Commercial Glass Program, a countywide recycling program geared at eliminating the buildup of nonbiodegradable materials in the landfills.
The program went into effect in 1992, and about 65 Chapel Hill businesses recycle, including more than seven bars.
Orange County Solid Waste Program Manager Blair Pollock said he is pleased with the number of bars involved in this program.
"It is quite impressive to see all these bars voluntarily participate in our program," he said.
Pollock said many bars began participating in recycling when the state of North Carolina banned landfill disposal of aluminum cans.
The Cave, located at 452 1/2 W. Franklin St., has participated in Chapel Hill's recycling program for about 10 years.
"We recycle everything, including bottles, glass, aluminum cans and cardboard," said the proprietor, Mouse.
The town picks up recyclables once a week.
That expense is already covered in fees that all businesses pay to the town. For an additional pickup every week, there is a cost of $700 a year.
But most of the costs associated with running the recycling program are covered by selling back bottles to the glass manufacturers. Pollock cited the town of Wilson as a primary recipient of the glass.
"We are fortunate that North Carolina has many major glass production plants in the state," Pollock said.
Top of the Hill manager Michael Baleno said the eatery, located at 100 E. Franklin St., chooses another route for some of its recyclables.
"We return all liquor bottles to the ABC stores, and all broken glass is picked up by the city," Baleno said. "We do not have any beer bottles since we are a brewery."
Pantana Bob's, located at 305 W. Rosemary St., only recycles cardboard and returns its Budweiser and Miller beer bottles back to the manufacturers. Starting March 1, the business will be on the pickup schedule of the town recycling program.
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Woody's Tar Heel Tavern and Grill, located at 175 E. Franklin St., stopped recycling a couple of months ago because owners said it was not efficient at the time.
"We are still researching for a recycling program that will be compatible at our site," said bar manager Efren Saenz.
Saenz said a major problem Woody's faces is the amount of space available behind its bar.
"The city requires us to separate the empty bottles by color, and with our limited space, we must find a system that will work."
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