Fox Run Vineyards in New York is doing its part to keep glass out of area landfills.
The Finger Lakes winery produces more than 240,000 bottles of wine a year, but it has mitigated its impact on the environment after purchasing a machine that crushes bottles into environmentally usable sand.
Specifically, Fox Run is using the GLSand Bottle Crusher at its tasting room, which Fox Run president and co-owner Scott Osborn says can crush any clean glass container up to 2 liters in size within seconds.
Fox Run is the first winery in New York state to add the machine to its tool kit, Osborn said.
“It’s my hope that all New York wineries will adopt this technology,” Osborn offered. “It’s one of the best solutions out there for extended producer responsibility.”
The crusher isn’t just used in vineyards. It’s also used by landscaping and construction companies.
But for Fox Run, it’s helping them crush more than 600 empty bottles per weekend, which is about how many empties it has during a busy weekend. After being crushed to sand, the bottles fit in a few 1-gallon buckets, reducing their volume by approximately 90 percent.
“The machine is quiet, safe and easy for our entire staff to use,” Osborn said. “It’s another step on minimizing our impact on the environment, which is something we set goals for every year.”
Other steps Fox Run has taken to operating “green” include:
- Installing solar panels
- Switching to compostable cafe ware
- Planting pollinator santctuaries
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