Episode 16 - Don't Trash Glass featuring Blake King with GlassKing Recovery & Recycling, Inc

Thanks for tuning back in for more magic! Today's magic is all about GLASS! In this episode of the Magical Midlife Crisis Podcast, we talk to Blake King, the founder of GlassKing, a glass recycling business.

Blake shares the origin and growth of his business, highlighting how he started as a young entrepreneur working in the nightlife industry. He noticed the sheer volume of glass waste generated by nightclubs and realized most companies were not recycling this material. This discovery ignited his entrepreneurial journey, eventually leading him to establish GlassKing Recovery & Recycling, In. 

The business now partners with various industries, from restaurants to resorts, to divert tons of glass waste from landfills. Despite the challenges, Blake acknowledges the role of resilience, patience, and vision in shaping his business. He emphasizes the significant contribution of his clients and supporters to his success and discusses plans to further expand his services. The episode promotes increased environmental awareness and the potential to create meaningful change in seemingly unlikely scenarios.

00:58 Guest Introduction: Blake King from GlassKing

01:21 Blake's Journey into the Recycling Business

02:58 The Challenges and Triumphs of Starting a Recycling Business

06:13 Expanding the Business and Learning the Worth

07:15 The Impact of Glass Recycling on Businesses

09:12 The Evolution of a Business Owner's Perspective on Sustainability

12:11 The Challenges and Opportunities in the Recycling Industry

13:47 The Journey of Glass Recycling in Chicago

15:07 The Impact of Glass Recycling on a Single Business

19:06 The Future of Glass Recycling and Sustainability

31:11 The Magic of Glass Recycling

31:28 The Technology Behind Glass Sorting

32:38 The Journey to Phoenix and the Future of Glass Recycling

33:00 The Impact of Windshield Recycling

34:41 The Personal Growth Through Recycling

36:39 The Expansion Plans and Future Collaborations

37:49 The Challenges and Triumphs of Running a Recycling Business

39:16 The Power of Awareness and Choice in Recycling

39:44 The Importance of Collaboration in the Recycling Industry

41:52 The Impact of Glass Recycling on the Restaurant Industry

45:14 The Future of Glass Recycling and the Power of Persistence

50:23 The Power of Community in Promoting Recycling

52:00 Conclusion: The Magic of Recycling and the Power of Collaboration

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Transcript

0:01

I think that's the biggest problem with like most people, is if you actually took some like a average person that has never thought about recycling or waste and you took'em to their refuge area. And they stall like firsthand the amount of garbage that is being generated and all they have to do is separate like glass and that's just one small thing, right? If you take like food, for example, on another thing, like people would be like, Oh my God, I don't want to be part of this problem anymore because I actually see it now. Like not many people have been to a landfill. Right? Like they just know it goes somewhere, but they've never seen what a landfill looks like. And when you actually go to a landfill, and you see this Mount Everest pile of shit that is what the, what are we doing as like human beings? And we do this willingly, but it's because we don't have an alternative, right? Well, not that we know of that's another thing we talked about in our last podcast was the power of awareness and choice and knowing like what you really are choosing and. I think, people will say over and over, it's part of the problem of this modern day world. But it's like, where there's problems, there are solutions and that is up to us. Again, taking responsibility, becoming aware, taking responsibility, and then stepping into our power and what we really can create together if we are collaborating. This is the magical midlife crisis podcast, where your hosts, I'm court, a compassion activist, animal lover, nature, nut and entrepreneur in the mind, body, spirit connections. And I met a free thinker with a passion for non toxic living, a dedicated hockey mom and a multi business owner. We are a couple of friends who met through health and heartache. We discovered through our crisis moments, we all have magic within us. This podcast is about awakening to a different perspective and being the creators of our own reality. Every Sunday, you can expect an abundance of stories from all kinds of kinds in their different layers of awakening. We hope you expand your heart and minds and create the shift with us. So unplug from the matrix and tune in to this magical mystery ride. Beep, beep. Honk honk. Hi, this is Meg and Court chiming in from the Magical Midlife Crisis podcast. Today we have a guest, Blake King from Glass King, here to tell us all about his journey in getting into the recycling business. And I can't wait to hear how you started and Let's get into it. Yeah. No, thanks. You thanks for having me. Um when I uh, The reason why I started this business actually I used to work for a marketing company Um in scottsdale, um, I was 21 years old at the time and I did bottle service for the nightclubs in old town scottsdale I worked at macy's at the time. Um, and my manager was like Hey, we're looking for, you know, young guys that want to be in the club after they get off of work and put in the hours, would you like to come and be part of this startup? Um, like quickly, you know, obviously being in the nightclub Monday through Sunday, these nightclubs don't do any food. It's just all, all glass. So, um, you know, we'd be taking, um, bottle service and I'd be looking at these bottles, just go into the trash and I'd go to the back of their building and it would be. Trash cans, just full top to bottom of nothing but glass bottles. And I was like, you gotta be shitting me. This is going to the trash. Like I thought for sure, this is easy. Like this is getting recycled. Has to be right. Started doing some research, realized that glass was one of the few recyclables that most companies don't want to deal with. Push came to shove. I started collecting glass. Um, I used my pickup truck and milk crates, believe it or not. So what I would do is I would leave like, you know, 10, 20 milk crates and they would fill these things up. And when I got off of work, I would go pick up the full milk crates and give them empty milk crates. Um, and then I'd bring them back to this warehouse that a guy let me park kind of like in the back of his, of his warehouse. Um, it took me about six months to fill up a container. And I thought I was on top of the world. I was like, holy shit, I'm rich. Like, this is like, next level. Um, I sent it in to the company that was buying it, um, and they paid per ton. And again, for me, I didn't even know what a ton looked like, right? So I'm like, oh man, I got, I got like a thousand tons in this thing. Like, I'm like, this is, this is, this is huge, right? Um, ended up being six tons of material. And at the time they were paying me 5 a ton. So I got 30, I got 30 and I was like, Oh, shit. This is not gonna work. This is, this is bad. Um, but, uh, at the time my friend, um, was a bartender at Kona grill and he's like, Hey Blake, like I know what you're doing. Um, and I'd like to help you out. And my manager said that he'd be willing to, um, like give this a go. Went and met with him and I was like, Hey, I got these milk crates. Um, you can fill up like all your stuff in there and I will come and pick them up and my service is 25, you know, a month. And, and he's like looking at me and he's like, Blake, he's like, I don't mean to be rude. I will fill up those milk crates in an hour. And I was like, what, like, there's no way, like, I have some pretty, like, I, at the time I had about 10 bars and I'm like, these are bars, like, you're just a restaurant, dude. Like, there's no way, like, a bar is producing less than you. He's like, look, if you can come up with, like, a different collection method. I'd probably be interested in doing it. Um, you know, Megan, like the containers that we have at your restaurant actually found it on Craigslist in Avondale. I haggled with the guy. He had him had him up for sale for about 80 bucks. Um, I only had 80 in my pocket. And so when I went there, I was like, look, dude, I'm starting a business. I only have 80 bucks. It took me About an hour and a half to get here. Can I buy this for 40? Cause I need 40 to put back into my gas tank to get home. And he's like, look, man, I've had this thing forever. Take it, but just remember one thing. When you get big, please shout me out and tell this story. So every time I tell everybody, I tell them exactly how I got started and I can't remember his name. Really nice guy. Um, but I got that container. I put it in the back of my truck. I dropped it off on a Monday afternoon round like 12 o'clock the next morning, Tuesday morning, he called me and he said, Blake, my container's full. And I was like, there's no way. There's no way. So I go to his restaurant. And again, mind you, I didn't know how to pick this thing up. I brought my milk crates with me. I emptied the big crate into my milk crates to about halfway full and left. He called me the next day on Wednesday was like, Blake, you said that. You were going to come and pick up this container. Why didn't you pick it up? And I was like, I did, I came and I emptied it. There's no way you filled it up again. Sure. Shit. I went over there and it was full and I was like, oh my God, I'd like, this isn't going to work. So that was in 2015. I bought my first truck. Um, Uh, it was a 16 foot steak bed, like with the lift gate, you know, on it, I bought a couple more of those containers so I could kind of do a pull and swap system. Um, but at the same time, the mall, the managing company that oversees the waste saw my container out back and said, we don't recycle glass, who is. Doing this, uh, got in touch with the general manager. Um, who is his name is Morgan. He's actually one of the managers at Topgolf now, but got in touch with him and he said, Hey, Morgan, like who, who is this company that you're doing this with? Gave them the information. This company reached out to me and said, Hey, This is working so well. We manage all of the malls across Phoenix. Would you like to partner with us and recycle all of our glass? Which came to shove. We got all seven malls here in Phoenix, Arizona. Um, and you know, each mall has anywhere from eight to 10 restaurants. And that was pretty much the start I had in, in glass. Dude, how old were you when it started? Um, so 2015, that's, you know, about 10 years ago, I was, um, about 23, 24. Wow. Yeah, so, I, uh, I love the, I love the, how, like, you were hit with the growth that just made you have to think of a better solution. Like, Very quickly over and over and over and how you just did it. Like you just got resourceful. Like that's one of what I've learned in the business world. That's one of the best qualities is to just like use those opportunities that come to you that are like a really difficult challenge and just become resourceful and you did that. That's awesome. And you're so young too. Yeah, it was, uh, it was definitely a learning experience because again, you know, not coming from any kind of waste. or recycling background. Um, I just did it because again, I saw an opportunity and I didn't realize like how big the opportunity actually was until this company again said, Hey, here's seven malls. What is your service charge? And I'm like thinking, well, shit, man, I'm charging 25 bucks a restaurant a month. You got 10 restaurants, you know, I'll charge you 250 bucks a month per month. Like mall. And at the time I didn't realize how bad I was shooting myself in the foot. Yeah. Right. Um, you know, until my contract ended and I got to obviously a little more experience and just to put into perspective, you know, I was charging them 250 a month per mall. Um, you know, now we charge like between 1500 and 2, 000 a month per mall, you know? So like, obviously as you know, you begin to grow and you get more experience, you're like, Oh shit, man, my, my, my stuff's worth something like, you know, you're worth. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Got to know your worth. That's another thing that, um, with Meg and I, I mean, Meg's been a business owner longer than I have. And so it's like, that's something that I feel like people just getting into the business world really do have, they have no idea what they really are worth and the service they're bringing for other people until you gain that obviously experience and then confidence. And then you're like, Oh, I am, I am making a difference. And this is something that. Like there's no, there's no shame in feeling worthy. There's no shame in that, but obviously past issues that came up when we were growing up really did challenge that belief of our worth. So that's right. So cool. How you work through it. Yeah, I kind of still take that approach, you know, because in the recycling world, um, there, there isn't like a, you know, one size fits all, you know, type of, of situation. Um, I mean, and we kind of learned that firsthand in Chicago. I've been doing it so long in Phoenix and we had been doing it one way. For so long, we get to Chicago and, you know, I'd never been to Chicago before I got there. It was my, the first time we, I got to Chicago was my very first time there. So I went downtown into the city. We had all these contracts lined up and I'm like, Oh man, this is going to be cake. I'll put bids here, here, here, here. While I started driving through the city and through the alleys. There's no damn space. So I'm like, holy shit, like, yeah, we can collect the glass, but how are we going to do it, right? Because I can't use my same method like I do with, you know, with Meg at her restaurant. So we had to think outside of the box and, you know, figure out alternative methods. So we actually use like the 96 gallon containers like at your house that you use for, um, like your trash. We provide them and they, you know, they put the glass in there and we pick up those and do the same thing, so. Okay. So how long have you been in the Chicagoland area? So we've actually been there for two years, but we haven't been servicing for two years. So the initial, um, uh, like our initial visit was really just to get a lay of the land, right? Understand traffic and logistics. Um, you know, and that's, that's like a big thing. You don't realize like when you go to these different cities, you know, like we have rush hour traffic here in Phoenix. It doesn't even compare to rush hour traffic in Chicago. Nothing compares to what happens in Chicago. Right, like, yeah, whole other level of shit. And like, for me, I'm like, god damn, like, this is crazy. Like, I'm talking, you know, I got stuck, you know, we provide services for, um For downtown and I didn't realize that I had to take into account baseball schedules and football schedules Like I'm in downtown and and the Cubs were about to have a game and I'm thinking alright, man It's 8 o'clock in the morning. Like I'm gonna get my shit done and get the hell out of here You know, I shit you not I was driving two miles took me three hours to get to this bin and I was like, okay Never again No, do not come to this city on game days, like ever. So, you know, little stuff like that, like you don't realize because you don't, you're not from there. You know what I mean? Yeah. So what brought you to Chicago? Um, so, you know, I'm sure you've seen the, the, uh, Corona, like protect our beaches, um, commercials. Yeah. Like on tv. Yeah. You know, like I, you know, they have this huge campaign, it's protect our beaches and, and, and obviously, um, like right now, you know, across the, the country, our, our, our beaches are washing away. You know, we're digging up so much sand and they're eroding as such a, like an alarming. Pigs that they're trying to figure out. How can we replenish like our beaches? Well, one glass, you know, sand can be utilized. But at the same time, You know, Corona being such a heavy consumer of glass bottles, they said, well, even if we're not turn it back into stand, obviously we want to capture the bottles that were producing. Um, so they started scouring twitter looking for like different campaigns, different stuff. Well, I had created a campaign called don't trash class D. T. G. Um, Corona marketing company kind of caught wind of it and they were like, holy shit, we're stealing this. Uh, they didn't realize that I had trademarked it. And so they were like, yeah, they were, they were like, oh, we're going to steal this. And they realized what was trademarked. So they had no choice but to call me and they were like, look, we want to use your DTG campaign. Um, they're owned by constellation branch, which is actually headquartered in Chicago. And so Constellation said, Hey, would you be willing to pilot a program and come to Chicago? I said, you know what, for the right price, I'd do anything, you know? And they said, look, let's do it. Um, they gave us the money to come in and like I said, kind of start building the infrastructure, scoping out different restaurants, bars, you know, hotels and saying, can you service and what does that look like? And that's what we did. Like so cool. Yeah. So I had never heard of any of this. And my one liquor rep from Diageo, Tom, he was telling me about this glass recycling system. Cause I was actually talking to him, like there's things I want to do to be more sustainable here. Like I'm trying to get rid of all the styrofoam in the, in the restaurant and go to only biodegradable or compost. And I was talking to him about all these changes that I want to make that are better for the environment. And then that's when he brought up it's recycling thing. And I'm like, I don't know what it is, but I'm all about it. And then that was when I reached out to you and like, you remember, I think you were walking around out back and I'm like, what are you doing? Who are you? Yeah. Yeah. You came up. I thought she was going to stab me because she had that look in her eye. She's like, Guy is walking around my, I don't blame you. And I was like, I was like caught off guard. I'm like, holy shit. Like I probably should have introduced myself and knocked on the door first. Like, you know, but again, I was just kind of scoping everything out, but yeah, that's, that's when we met and you know, yeah. So explain to me, how big is my crate? Cause I would like to know what I, as a business, what I am contributing and what I'm doing. Yeah. So, um, you know, like your trash cans, they, they call them like yard sizes. So like you might have like a four yard trash can, right? So our bins are one yard. Um, they hold about 2000 beer bottles, um, and about a thousand wine or liquor bottles. Uh, so every time we pick up your crate, Meg, um, it ranges in weight anywhere from like 800 to 1200 pounds. So we come, you know, we were coming once a week, obviously, you know, with different seasons, they kind of kind of slow down. Um, but you know, today, since you, you started, you've diverted over 30 tons of glass, which is, which is huge. Like, if you think about 30 tons, um, that will fill up, you know, 30 of those big roll off. I don't know if you've ever seen a roll off, but like you're, you're diverting a lot of glass. Like, which is crazy to think that you're one establishment and you single handedly are, you know, diverting that much material from, from the local landfills. I used to never even think about it. I used to not have compassion for the planet. I mean, I did, but not to the extent that I do now. What inspired your compassion? Um, a lot of hanging out with you. Blake, I wore this shirt for you. Oh, nice. But we all have in common. But it's the truth. You know what I mean? Like, it's the absolute truth. I mean, we only get one. One planet, we can't jump to another one after we destroy this one. And I feel like people have this mindset of like, it doesn't matter. You know, like we're, I'm only here for so long and it's probably not going to affect my lifetime. Yeah. So I would be like, I am just one business. What, what difference am I going to make sure that was my reasoning for not wanting to change certain things and spending more money, you know, but then really coming in touch with myself and my love for myself and the planet. I was like, you know what, that's me serving. I'm serving the planet by me giving a fuck. You know what I mean? It was, I was too focused on what everybody else isn't doing. So I didn't realize I was putting myself in that same category, but I was like, you know what? And I took over ownership. My parents retired about two years ago. So through that whole journey, I've really done a lot of self discovery and I really want to use my business as like an offset of, Hey, you can own a business, but you can be sustainable and you can make better choices. You know, I actually had one of my bartenders told me that they've had customers be like, what you guys do here is awesome. Right. Yeah. Like for people to notice that, you know, and yeah, really cool. Well, it's inspiring people. And obviously that's why Meg really wanted to have you on our podcast. So that like, You don't know until you know, and then once you know, it's your responsibility to take ownership or not. And I think that's what you were doing. Like you were finally under ownership and then you're like, holy shit, I can make these changes. Like you, you, you stepped into your responsibility of like what you're actually capable of doing. And I just, Well, I departmentalized my health and wellness business and my bar business and I, It's like, okay, that's over here and this is over here. And now I'm learning how to merge both the worlds together and be a positive impact, you know? Okay. So like, were you always interested in the. Like, obviously you saw an opportunity, was it first, like your first inspiration was like, Oh, like I want to start my own business or was it, Oh, I want to do better for the planet or was it both? Were you in both like paths at the same time or did you develop one thing or the other? Yes. I mean, I was in the same boat as, as Meg, to be God honest with you, I didn't, I didn't give a shit about the planet. Like, I didn't, I didn't even think twice about that. I've always had this like entrepreneurial, like spirit, like my family's always been, they all own like, you know, my aunts, my uncle, they all own their own businesses. So like my, you know, my parents own their own businesses. And so for me, I was like, I have to own my own business. Like, that's my main goal. And so when I started it again, it was really just about. Yeah. Making money. I didn't realize one, the impact I'd make on the environment. Um, but to the impact I make for like local business owners, you know, so similar to like Meg, what we do and the reason why we're so successful with what we do is because like you pay to throw shit away. So the more you divert theoretically, the more you should save on your trash. So like on average, you know, when we go into a bar or a restaurant, you know, hotel or casino, we save them anywhere from 15 to 25 percent on their waste bill and, and how we do that is when we say, Hey, let me see your waste bill. Before we start. Like service, right? Okay. You're paying X amount. Well, this is what we're going to do. We're going to start monitoring your, you know, glass recycling. We're going to give you those, those reports. And then you can share that with your waste company and say, Hey, I know I'm not throwing. More away than I was before. So I'm either going to change services. Cause what we've done is we've partnered with the waste companies. So like in Phoenix, we're partnered with waste management. So waste management contracts me to take the glass away. I bill. Waste management and waste management can kind of control their, you know, their costs that way. Um, similar to what we're doing in Chicago. So we work with LRS, you know, in Chicago, um, obviously we're trying to work with the groups and the flood brothers and the, you know, the various entities there is a Chicago is a little different beast. And again, we're brand new, you know, we're like the new kids in school. Nobody really wants to talk to us until we gain a little reputation, you know what I mean? Um, and so that's, that's, that's our goal. And that's what we've done. So when I met your mom, your mom is Rose, right? Yep. What's your dad's name? Jeff. Jeff. Okay. So when I met your parents, first of all, your mom is like the cutest lady ever. I looked on my camera and I'm like, why is this lady peeking in my, why is she going through it? I thought. She didn't look homeless, but I thought it was a homeless person trying to get a drink. I opened the door and I'm like, what are you doing? And then I saw the truck. And then I was like, she goes, Oh my God, this probably looks weird. She goes, I'm Blake's mom. Or I asked her, I'm like, are you Blake's mom? And she's like, yeah, I'm like, Oh my God. And then we just hit it off talking about energy and all that amazing stuff. It's kind of like the same way that you met him poking around. We're creepers. I'm sorry. Sorry. You know, this just goes to show that I, a lot of weird things happen around that plaza. Then when I was talking to your dad, your dad said how he was going to go to the village and talk. Cause I know Hoffman estates, we are only allowed to use group. We're not allowed to use. Right. Anybody else? Right. So I did your, do you know if your dad ever anything farther? I mean, we've, yeah, we've already reached out, you know, again, not a lot of companies are, are so like You know, easily, you know, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's a tough market. Yeah. Like, you know, to be honest again, we're as much as they love what we do, they hate us at the same time because again, glass is heavy, so you throw it away. I'm taking away from their overall weight. In that bin. The reason why they like us so much is glass is so abrasive, it actually eats the floor, like the lining of their trash trucks. So, you know, uh, uh, an average garbage company has to replace their, their floors and their trash trucks every three years. And that's primarily due to glass. And so for them, once we can kind of break that barrier and show them like what we're doing, it's usually pretty like arms wide open. Like, okay, yeah, come and take all this glass because we don't want this shit. Um, that's how, you know, we partnered with LRS. LRS is arguably one of the biggest waste companies in, in Chicago. Um, and they knew right off the bat, they were like, glass is one of our biggest detriments. Um, you know, cuts our, our, our employees hands when they're sorting it through the lines. Um, our machinery takes a huge toll because it is so, you know, abrasive. So again, for them, it was a, it was a grand slam. They were like, okay, here, here's this account, this account, this account. Here's this, you know, this, this. And they kind of said, hey, here's a silver platter. Come in, you know, come and take it. Can't they be your voice for these suburban, like, waste companies? Can't LRS, like Yeah. That's what we're doing now. Again, it just takes time. Like similar to like, again, here in, in, in Phoenix, I mean, even though we were partnered with waste management, nobody knew that we were partnered with waste management. You know, waste management still likes to take the credit. You know, they're saying, Oh yeah, we recycle the glass. No, they don't. They don't touch any of that shit. I touch it all. You know what I mean? But the whole facade is nobody knows me. They just know that waste management is providing the service and the glass is magically getting picked up. Right. Yeah. And so, you know, I make a lot of people look really good. You don't need your ego. Yeah. You're the guy behind the curtain. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know how much easier it is taking garbage out at work now. Right. Because even taking the blue recycling bins, taking that and dumping that in is way different than when we would have to lug our bags and walk it to the dumpster and it's got the glass in it. And so what happens with, if you're just throwing everything in, like my root dumpster, like I was before. Then obviously that goes to the landfill and that like, does the glass just stay in the landfill? Or do people sit there and sift through it? In some instances, yeah, but, um, you know, like in, in Chicago, you guys only have a 20 percent diversion rate regardless. So even if like, let's say you guys at your house are using your blue bin to separate your recyclables and you put all that stuff in there, only 20 percent of that is actually getting recycled. Okay. That's exactly what I was going to ask you. Cause I've heard this. I, you know, I've been in the. In the realm of loving the earth for, I don't know, my whole life. And I've, people have said, you know, what does it really matter? Cause every job I've had before I'd like started a recycling program and I started getting people like just becoming more aware, even if they weren't doing it, I was trying to, you know, just grow the awareness and they're like, It doesn't really matter. Don't you know that it all goes into the landfill anyway? And then I realized, holy shit. The recycling industry, it's broken. It is broken. So it's like, you know, for someone like you, that's actually like. From, you know, point A to point B to point C, like, you're in it, and you see it, and you see the actual changes, it's like, amen, like, you're so, like, I'm so grateful for what you're doing. Do you have any tips on, like, recycling? Like even like plastics, I mean. Well, so the biggest, like the biggest problem with, with recycling is because everything is commingled, so you got to like, think of it from like a realistic approach, right? Like if you put everything into one container and then you dump it on the ground, how many different products can you try to pick through before either one becomes too cost, like prohibitive for you to do that because you don't have the time. to do it. Second, when you're thinking about like a glass bottle, you put it in that bin, it goes into the trash truck, truck compacts, that material, that bottle is getting broken and it's pieces in cardboard and paper and aluminum and you can't get it out, right? There's no machinery in the world that can take glass out of a piece of cardboard. Yeah. It just doesn't exist. So, um, you know, the reason why we're so successful is because we just do one thing. We just do glass, right? And it's source separated. So we take it directly at the point of consumption. So before it gets to a trash truck, before it gets to a MRF, which is a material recovery, um, facility, it's not even in there. So again, we're successful because we're, you know, one, we're focused on one thing. So, you know, for, for any tips out there, again, when you look at places like Oregon, um, I don't know if you guys have any, like, I have a best friend that has lived there pretty much his whole life. And I didn't even realize this was a thing. I got to his house. He had like eight trash cans, one for garbage, one for plastic, one for aluminum, one for yard waste. Like, so as they separate it, obviously becomes more beneficial for whatever company is picking it up because they don't have so much labor and time into separating it, right? Colorado and Utah and California are other states that I've seen that in. And that made so much sense to me, like I went to San Francisco and I was like marveling over their like different waste cans for different things. I'm like, why don't we have that? It's confusing here. It's fascinating. I try to recycle and I get confused. I keep looking at that little triangle and trying to understand the number. Like, for me, it's confusing. I'm just confused. No, it is. I mean, and that's the thing. That's the reason why, like, I don't do plastic because I don't understand that shit either. Like, they make it so hard. Ugh. One, one versus six versus three versus four. And most of them aren't recyclable. Exactly. Exactly. You can't mold different plastic products with each other. It's different chemicals. And so a lot of them aren't recyclable. Well, people are putting plastic bags in with the hard plastics and blah, blah, blah. But yeah, no, glass is king. So I'm so it's so cool how like your last name is that and then you got into glass because it is a natural material. It is like one of the most recyclable materials to actually be utilized over and over. So like in any glass, like be used like, okay, so I think before we recorded, you told us all the glasses that you actually do, um, um, pick up. So there are different glasses. Does it matter like which glasses are used for making new things? Can it, can it all be recycled glass to make something new? Yeah. Like for instance, you said, uh, windshields and stuff like that. Some people tint their windows and like once everything's. Consolidated. Can you mix it all? So the, the beauty of glasses, yeah. Like all glass can be turned into glass rocks, right. But, um, for instance, like container glass can't be used to make automotive glass, um, whereas plate glass can't be used to make container glass. Um, so there are separate materials, but yeah, so like the windshields that we recycle, um, we actually send them right back down to a manufacturer in Mexico. That turns it right back into automotive. Um, also we have a company that makes, uh, fiberglass insulation out of it. Um, you know, your container glass, obviously, you know, a container can go right back into a container within like less than 30 days. So like if you drink a, you know, a Corona tonight and you put it in, you know, one of our containers, um, in 30 days, that can be another Corona bottle. So when you're saying container, it's like bottles. What about like Pyrex? What is Pyrex? So Pyrex is, uh, has a, like a different, it's, it's glass, but it isn't at the same time. Um, it's made up of different chemicals. Um, it still can be used to make, Pyrex. Um, but Pyrex actually becomes a contaminant for your container glass. So like your jars, like your pickle jars, you know, you can mix with a wine bottle. Um, you know, your A1 bottles, you can mix with Tabasco jars and beer bottles, right? Um, because like what we do is so everything is commingled. Like at Meg's restaurant, you know, she doesn't separate by color. She doesn't remove caps or labels or lime wedges or anything like that. Um, she puts everything and we try to make it convenient, right? Because again, if I'm asking Meg to say, you know, Meg, I need green bottles here. Blue bottles here. She doesn't have time for that. You know what I mean? Um, and the good thing about technology is we have optical sorter. So we'll take it to our facility, it gets crushed, and then it gets optical sorted by color. So flint is your, is your clear, um, amber is your brown glass, and then emerald obviously is your, is your green glass. And then you mentioned caps. So I've been asked quite a bit about bottle caps. Like, what's the Yeah, those get removed throughout the process. So we just have a series of screens, um, and you know, flow channels that take that material up. So, um, as the materials like shaking down like a conveyor belt, um, obviously glass is much heavier than a bottle cap, right? Um, so as it's going through the optical sorter, the computer is actually balancing a ray of light. Through it. And if it goes through, obviously it says, okay, this is this kind of, of, of material and that material will fall down. If it's something like a bottle cap, and that thing can't go through a little blast of air will push it up through the air channel. And then it collects those bottle caps. So cool. Okay, so where Like, where is that? Where is this cool? So we, we don't have one in Chicago. Um, because again, we're, you know, we're new. But here in Phoenix, that's what we do. You know, here in Phoenix. And do you, do you go there? Like, I, I mean, when I come to visit, I want to like see the facility. I'm a nerd. Like, Oh yeah. Yeah. I would love to, to, um, give you a tour, you know, of the, of the facility. Um, we're actually building a new like windshield and like plate glass facility. Uh, so we took down our old one, um, and you know, decommissioned it. And in about six months, we'll have the new one coming from Europe. Uh, that will obviously, you know, create much more efficiencies for us to, to recycle more, more and more glass, right? So we're partnered with companies like SafeLite, you know, I'm sure you guys see the commercials all the time and you would be us. Yeah, exactly. The jingle gets everybody right. Um, but you would be like astonished at how many windshields get replaced. on a daily basis. It's like it's mind boggling. I mean, um, just to put it into perspective here, uh, just in like a week's time, you know, we collect over 10, 000 windshields from one location. Wow. Just one location. 10, 000 a week. 10, 000 from one location again. And we have over eight different customers here in Phoenix that produce windshield waste on a daily basis. Like you have like a bajillion partnerships. This is amazing. Like way to be again, resourceful and like collaboration is so awesome. I just love it. I love business so much, especially the businesses, like what you're doing, what we're doing is really like. It is connecting people to a higher value of, of like what we're, what we can all really do in this, in this lifetime. It's so cool. I just, I'm so impressed and the growth that, you know, like you said, you didn't start off with having compassion for the planet and look where you grew as a person in like through the journey, what, how it can really change. I love it. Yeah, it's crazy. So when did you really start learning about, like, the impact of what you're doing for the earth? Like did you get all nerdy about it eventually? Yeah. Yeah. No, I did. I mean we partnered with the with the gpi Um, they're a non profit trade organization. It's called the glass packaging institute Um, and so we're partnered with them and once I started kind of researching like if you go to gpi. org Um, you'll see DTG all over their website. And once I started realizing the, like the energy and like the CO2 emissions that we were reducing, um, I mean, you, you hear it all the time, like greenhouse gases, greenhouse gases, like, you know, the planet's warming up, the planet warming up and the fact that we're part of that needle to potentially go down is, is massive. I mean, we literally are helping change the landscape. Of the entire world just by doing a small gesture. And again, it's not just me, like, that's what I love about what Meg said. Like, I'm just one business. Like, what is one business? Well, you're one of 10, 000 bars, restaurants, hotels, and casinos in Chicago. If all of you guys are recycling, um, you know, if, if we recycled all the glass in the United States today, these manufacturers would never have to produce another bottle from raw material again. They could continue to just reuse the same bottles over and over and over again. And we would never have to dig another hole for sand. We would never have to cut another piece of limestone. We would never have to, you know, uh, mine soda ash or anything like that. Because there is enough glass and circulation out there that if we were to actually do our jobs the correct way. We would never see another mine again for soda ash or limestone or or sand or anything like that But you know again, we're America's a business, you know For sure. Yeah. So then with you being in Chicago, obviously, well, people might not know this, but we don't live in the city. We live in the suburbs. Are you looking to like actually expand into the suburbs? Is that a goal of yours? Yeah. Yeah. That's a that's a huge. Well, I, I have some ideas because I was involved in this environmental defenders, um, nonprofit. And, uh, one of the members has completely transformed, like, the, the county that I live in with all of the restaurants, giving them resources on how to utilize different forms like Meg's doing with, like, going, um, with biodegradable materials and then obviously different types of recycling. So I definitely want to get you in touch with this member and see what can be done because they've worked with the. The waste management companies. So this could be exciting. Uh, did it break like commercial, right? Like, can you guys hear me? Sorry. Oh, it kind of cut out. So can you start over? Sorry about that. Yeah. So we're, we're not like just focused on commercial. Like, we're actually looking to add, like, You know, convenient public drop offs to, um, so again, you can collect your A1 bottles in your, you know, your wine bottles and liquor bottles and then take them to like a convenient point. You know, we're trying to do it like with like the grocery stores, right? So like if they allow us to have like a parking spot, we can put a container there. You guys can stop by once a week once you collect enough glass and then we provide that service. So that's something that we're really like heavily focused on. Like grocery stores will take the plastic bags and I don't know how good of a procedure that all I would think that's a little bit better because it's just plastic bags. But again, it's a big deal. And obviously glass is glass. So I think that's so brilliant. Yeah. Oh my gosh, this is so cool, Blake. I'm like, so happy right now. So you know, you guys are connected in a way. Oh, Sarah from Safe Harms Way. Does that sound familiar? It's Sarah yeah. So I had um, shared a video of me doing something with my um, takeout containers about how we switched or whatever and I had already started with Glass King and her friend had messaged me like, Oh my God, you got to use Glass King. They recycle all your, your glass. And I took a picture of my thing. She goes, Oh my God, that's it. So I was just, I don't know if you've ever been in contact with Safe and Harm's Way. Yeah. Did I tell you that or no? No, I never have. Okay. Yeah. Aaron's Farm? That's so funny. Sarah! Or Sarah with Erin's Farm. Maybe. Yeah, whatever one is in Indiana. Indiana. Erin's Farm. Erin's Farm, Indiana. Yes. Okay. Yes. Sarah is one of my friends. Oh yeah. That's so funny. He had reached out and messaged me saying, oh, I see you're doing all this stuff. You should try Glass King. And I was like, I know, and I love it. So I just wanted to point out that connection. I love it. I love it. Yeah. No, that's, that's awesome. No. And I love that. Like we're in this giant world, but it's so damn small on the same, like time it's, it's crazy. You know, it's who you align with. And it's all sprouts. Like this is, I mean. Seeds are being planted left and right, obviously the nerdy earth people and then the business people then come together and get shit done. Yep. That's exactly how it has to like happen. And that's been like the biggest problem is like the way skies are like over here and like It's kind of like they're in like their own world and they don't care about like the rest. And what we've done is like, we bring everyone together. Like I love doing these kinds of things because I get to meet, you know, people like you Courtney and Meg get to, you know, get to know you better. Who is, you know, you guys are business owners. You guys are part of your community. You like want to do better for society, like in general. And, and most people who want to, they just don't get the resources to do it. Right. Um, again, if, if you lined up 100 people and said, Hey, if you had the ability to recycle glass at your house, would you, I guarantee 100 people would say yes, but the problem is they don't, it's not available to them. So for them, they do what they can because it's what's in front of them. Right. Yeah. Inconvenient. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just so awesome. I can't wait to just keep the conversation going offline and however we can get your services out there. Yeah. We're. It. I'm all in. Yeah. Yeah. No, we're, we're about to do a big marketing campaign, like with LRS again, kind of really, and that's why, again, we haven't like billed anybody for the service. I mean, for us, we're just thankful that people like may want to participate like straight up, you know? I mean, cause again, when we can prove the concept and, and these bins are full, people are like, holy shit, like I thought you were bullshitting us. And then they're like, we show up with the truck full of glass and are like. Where'd you get this from? I'm like, I'm telling you the bars and restaurants like these guys want to do it like and when you give them their resources They will get this shit done. Like that's just that's just what it is, right? And like you said Meg, I mean Um, a lot of the times we come into like an establishment especially like a resort Or like a hotel, they already separate the glass for like inventory purposes. Right. So after they pour like that last shot, they put like the bottles into like a cabinet. And then they have like a controller, like an auditor that is like, okay, we did 10 bottles of tequila, 10 bottles of Smirnoff, 10 of this, 10 of this. So then they can get more accurate. Um, you know, like when they buy Yeah. And they're purchasing that stuff. They're not over purchasing or under purchasing. Right. So like, you would be amazed at like, when we come into a place, like they're already doing a job for us, and I'm like, oh, well shit, I'll just put the bin right here. And they're like, done and done. Like, just get it done. And I'm like, yeah, okay. Here we go. Hotels and resorts, I mean. Brilliant. Brilliant. So are you, is that part of your avenue as well? Like, yeah, yeah. I mean, like here in Phoenix, we service pretty much every major like resort. So like, we're, we're on the 360 sustainable, um, board for the Marriott International. Um, and, um, you know, like here in Arizona, I mean, we have, I have 12 casinos. I mean, we're, uh, we're a tribe state, right? I got 12 goddamn casinos. Like I could throw rocks at all of them. They're so goddamn close, you know? That's so insane. It's like, it's, that's so fucking incredible. Yeah, dude. It's, it's, it's cr like, it's crazy when you see and again, walk into a casino and it's just glass, glass, glass, shop beer. Like, you're like thinking about it and then like, you go like, and, and that's the, I I think that's the biggest problem with like most people, is if you actually took some like a, like a average person that has never thought about recycling or waste and you took'em to their refuge area. And they stall like firsthand the amount of garbage that is being generated and all they have to do is separate like glass and that's just one small thing, right? If you take like food, for example, on another thing, like people would be like, Oh my God, I don't want to be part of this problem anymore because I actually see it now. Like not many people have been to a landfill. Right? Like they just know it goes somewhere, but they've never seen what a landfill looks like. And when you actually go to a landfill, and you see this, this Mount Everest pile of, of, of shit that is like, what the, what are we doing as like, as like human beings? Like, and we do this willingly, but it's because we don't have an alternative, right? Well, not that we know of that's another thing we talked about in our, in our last, um, podcast was the power of awareness and choice and knowing like what you really are choosing and. I think, you know, people will say over and over, it's part of the problem of this modern day world. But it's like, where there's problems, there are solutions and that is up to us. Again, taking responsibility, becoming aware, taking responsibility, and then stepping into our power and what we really can create together if we are collaborating. Yep, for sure. Dude, you're all over the place. This is so cool. I'm so, I'm so grateful to know you. So I like to talk about you. Oh, thank you. Like, I don't even really know you, but I'm just like, it's fucking awesome. Okay, so, so you've had this Glass, you've had the Glass King company for how long now? Um, so I, I started the business in 2013, but I didn't really do anything until 2019, um, when like I first built my, my first machine. Um, again, I was collecting from the mall and I started that in, in about 2016. Um, but I wasn't like processing glass myself. I was collecting it. I was like the aggregator. So like I would pick it up and then I would take it to somebody else. Yeah. Like a scrap guy. Um, I realized guy. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Just like anything else, I mean, if I can collect it and then turn it into something, obviously the value increases, you know? Yeah. So, um, you know, when I built my first machine in 2019, um, and it was a windshield processing system, um, that's when, you know, I feel we truly became sure like a real business. You know, I mean, even though we're, we're making money, we're generating revenue and stuff. It wasn't until that, when I was like, holy shit, we did it, man. Like we, I did exactly what I said I was going to do. Um, and you know, just hustle, hustle and determination. Wow. And the, the patience too. That's amazing because it took time for you to obviously put the energy in and, and build your belief. I mean, you saw it, you had a vision and that's what it starts with. But then allowing the vision to expand and shift and, like, flow to get to the point of where you are. Like, were there, were there times where you're like, fuck it, this is not gonna work? I, I still say that today, you know, like, it's like, business is hard, you know, it's not, it's not for, it's not for the weak. You know, again, some days you have really good days and some days you're like, fuck this, man, like, I would much rather just not do this at all. But I think that's natural for like anything. The more you take on, the more pressure and, you know, more people are expecting things and more things to be in charge of. Wow. Well, then what takes you from like those valleys to the next peak? Like what, what's that internal? Meaning, you know, people like you, like, you know, I mean, again, when I get a little like, like glimmer of hope that like more people like think like I do, and they're like, you know what, we want to help out. And I'm like, okay, I like, I'm still on the right path. Like, I got to continue this path because I am doing the right thing. Like I am making a difference, even though again, nobody's pats me on the back. No one says thank you for your service. It's like, they just expect it, you know, because again, we save them money. We divert the glass from their waste stream. And for them, the reason why they love us is because I affect their pocketbooks. Again, 90 percent of the people out there, they don't realize that we're contaminating the earth because for them, they think, well, the earth has been around for billions and billions of years. I only got at best 60 to 80 on this damn thing. Right. What is the difference if I do this or not? Well, they're going to be reincarnated back to that shitty Earth, while we're going to be floating in the fucking galaxies. Right, right. Yeah, exactly. They're glasses. Yeah, they can all be reincarnated and have a crappy Earth. Yeah, they're gonna be reincarnated into plastic water bottles. Then that was just on the news. Did you hear about that on the news? I don't watch the news what Joel died, but I have to. It's a whole other thing now and, and you know, we've been like, even us, like, you know, we try to do like everything in glass, you know, like I'll go to like a bar and I'm like, well, if I can't get it in draft. I don't want it in a can like, um, you know, coming from this industry, it's such a crazy thing. Uh, we actually met a gentleman that was like the president of like the, the can like manufacturing, um, thing. And he was telling us nightmare stories. And he says, just so you know, If you have the choice between a bottle and a can, pick a bottle every single time. Cans are the dirtiest thing that you could ever drink from. Um, and so, and I'm like, I'm sure you guys have heard of stories, like, I mean, every time I drink a can, I always take like the inside of my shirt and I rub the Like you have to, right? Well, yeah, there's rats and, yeah, things from the factories. And, and, and like, and, and steel is, is not inert, like glasses, you know, like glass, you can't, like you could put water in glass and it won't seep through over time. I mean, why do you think steel rusts? Yeah. Starts penetrating this, the steel, right? And so with like aluminum and that kind of stuff, I mean, you have these rats and they're shitting on everything that is just seeping into your drink, whether or not they clean it and they go through a thing, it doesn't matter. And again, coming from a gentleman that was the president of the can industry for 20 plus years and he switched to the glass industry. Like told me, Holy shit, I'm doing the right thing. Like continue to do what I'm doing. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's confirmation. That's right. Universal confirmation. Yeah. I mean, really, truly like, thank you so much for the service that you're doing. I'm so excited to share this episode with everyone that I know, especially my earth loving friends, because I have many of them and yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna support you in all of the ways. For all, for all of the breaths that I have left, I'm supporting you. I appreciate it. I mean, I wish I had clones of you guys. I'd probably be on top of the world by now. You're just talking about clones. We were. Do you believe in cloning? Um, I'm sure, I believe in anything these days, right? Like, there's not a lot that I don't, like, look past, and I'm like, you know what, that's probably fucking it. It probably is. Have you, have you seen any, like, weird, in the industry that you're in, have you seen any weird shit? Um, no, not like for, for me, I mean, it's pretty one dimensional, like where we come from, you know, I mean, I, I go and smell glass is transparent. So yeah. Yeah. No, no, the, the, the weirdest thing that I get in, in, in crates are hamburgers every once in a while. So, but other than that, no, it's pretty straight, pretty straightforward for us. This is just coming from somebody who's always looking at her camera. Let's see. Freaking out that there's, I had a guy come out of my bathroom. He went in as a male and came out in female lingerie and he was an old man with a white beard. So she's seen it all. I've seen it all. You've seen it all. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and then that's the funny thing in the, in the restaurant industry, I'm sure you've seen. Anything you can think of, you've seen it. Oh yeah, yeah. Well, and you work in nightclubs, I'm sure, as well. Oh, God, that's, uh, I keep those stories for the grandkids whenever I get one, yeah. And how incredible, your job at a nightclub has brought you a vision. And something that you saw and you did something about it and I'll look at you years later, yeah, and like bringing my world of something, you know, I've always have tried to be like, how can I do something better? Or what can I do? And it is hard to find resources. And you know, you go on Google, but there's really No straight up answer, you know, so when I was about your company, I was like, this is amazing. And then, well, the internet, it's so flooded, you know, so that's why I love what we do. I love meeting you. I love what you're doing. Cause it's word of mouth like that. It's all about, like, who you know, and obviously the impact that that person is making on your self, on your being, on your, like, what you're doing in this world, and then you tell somebody else, and you tell enough people, and the world is transformed, like, it is happening, we're all doing it, it's just, you know. We get a little impatient. We've taught, we've been taught impatience, especially the kids these days, but it's instant gratification. And that's the story of most people's life because they get it right. Like, like you said, I mean, if I want to search something, I'll do it right now on my phone. Like I don't have to, you know, and that's the thing. Most people don't want to wait for anything. And that's why like you, you know, it took you a while to get where you were from 2015 to 2019 for you to not to give up because it wasn't happening right away. You know, so. Yeah. Hats off to you for that. Cause that's big time, big. And now look at the big impact you're making because a lot of people give up fear, whatever it may be, just not believing in themselves. So truly thank you. Cause you've made an impact on my life and on people that work for me and people that come into the bar. It's just something so simple like that really opens up people's eyes. Truly. Yeah. No. And again, like I say, I, I mean, I, I try to, you know, take the credit, but at the same time it's, it's not even me, it's, it's you guys, like literally like you do the work, your employees are, are the ones putting the glass in the bin. I got the easy job. I just picked this shit up. You know what I mean? I couldn't do it without you. And again, so every time we talk to anybody, we give praise to our clients because again, they are going out of their way to make sure they're going to do the right thing. I'm just providing the resources. Hey, I'll give you what you need. You need a couple containers. You need some stickers. You need a container. I got that stuff. It's you, you know, it's all you. So I appreciate you. Collab, Collab, Collab, Collab to the max. Everybody works together. For sure. Connect the dots. Yep. So cool. Well, thank you so, so much, Blake. You are a light, a true, true transparent light in this world. And I'm so grateful that you got to be on our magical midlife crisis podcast. What a beautiful midlife crisis you had. If there's people that want to get ahold of you. Yes. How do they get in touch if they're like, I will put all your links in our show notes, but tell us out loud so people can make their own notes. Yeah, I mean, we have, you know, our website is glasskingrecycling. com. Um, again, people can visit the gpi. org and check out all the DTG. Um, there's videos and like what happens, how to's and, and different stuff like that. Uh, like what not to do, you know, like, um, for us a big contaminant in glass is like ceramics. So like your plates. You know, and stuff like that, mirrors, light bulbs, um, so just educating the, the public on, because like you said, people want to do the right thing. It's like the plastic thing. They're like, oh, well, shit, it's plastic. Like I'll put it all on this one thing. It doesn't work like that. It's just like, you know, a light bulb, people are like, well, it's glass and it is, and you can recycle light bulbs as long as. Light bulbs are with light bulbs, you know, um, same thing like with automotive glass. Like when you come to our facility, we don't have just one big pile of bottles, plate. It's all separated, you know? Um, so the more we can educate people, the more, you know, people understand. And I'll do the right thing. That's great. I'll link those in the show notes too. It's awesome. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. And I'm sure hopefully I won't creep around too much next time, Megan, around your restaurant. It's all right. It was a blessing meeting your mom, by the way. She is so unbelievably proud of you. Like she just spoke so high of you and let me tell you her energy. I had to keep hugging her because her energy was so amazing. Your mom. Incredible ball. Yeah. Like me and her just hit it off and I was just getting like the vibrations from her of just amazingness. Yeah. Oh, awesome. She's a soulful person. She has that. She has that effect. Yeah, she does. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. So she has that, that radi energy. Yeah. No, thank you guys. I appreciate it. Thank you, Courtney and Meg. I appreciate you. And thank you to your parents for making you. I know. I, I try to remind them like, Oh man, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you guys. So thanks so much. Love it. Love it. All right. Well, we will be in touch. We're going to be all over supporting you whenever we can. If you made it to the end of this episode, that means you either just appreciate our messy, awkward life experiences, or you're truly up for finding more magic in your life like we are. Definitely tune in every Sunday for more reality shifts that we explore between us and with many special guests that join. If you feel it, please subscribe so you don't miss your seat on our magical earth school bus. Your experience with this show really means a lot to us. So we want to genuinely welcome you to leave an honest review. Your voice matters exactly how it is. You can follow us on social media, check the show notes, and if you really want to get in the action, send us a message directly through our email. We'll connect with you next week.