When a roadside cleanup in Red Hook collected 900 pounds of glass, the Rotary East Eco “crushers” turned a mountain of bottles into a useful resource.
One Saturday, the "crushers", a title lovingly given to the volunteers who operate a glass crushing machine at the Rotary Club of St. Thomas East Eco, were in for a colossal day. A serendipitous collaboration with a nearby volunteer roadside clean up effort in Red Hook resulted in 900 lbs of glass bottles being brought to be recycled and kept out of the overburdened local landfill. In a few hours, four dedicated volunteers worked through the extra volume generated which was more than 3 times the typical weekly glass they receive from residential drop-offs. "It looked daunting," said Rotarian Mik Morales, a member of the glass crushing committee and a main crusher that day. "But you just stick with it, and like anything, piece by piece, you get it done."
The Rotary Club of St. Thomas East Eco “crushers” (from left to right): Steve Shegrud, Fran Brown, Jay Nesbitt, and Mik Morales.
On Saturday, September 19th 2026, community volunteers started bright and early at 7 AM to pick up trash along the roadside from the Red Hook Ferry Terminal to the entrance to Sapphire as part of an event dubbed the Massive Virgin Islands Community Cleanup. Ivan Williams, leader and organizer of the event, was disheartened driving around the island and seeing piles of trash carelessly discarded along the roadside. He decided to take action: he filmed video of these debris-filled locations, posted them online, and asked the community to come out and help him clean it up. He not only was able to muster an enthusiastic crew of volunteers but also received support from local government organizations like the VI Waste Management Authority and the VI Police Department, so that volunteers could safely walk the roads and discard salvaged debris to be properly disposed of. East Eco club president Steve Shegrud learned of the community cleanup through a fellow Rotarian and club president of the St.Thomas-Sunrise Rotary club who was participating in the event. East Eco informed Williams that if his crew was able to separate out the glass bottles into buckets they provided, the material could be recycled thereby keeping it out of the landfill and providing a useful product to the community.
Cleanup organizer Ivan Williams (center right) with members of his roadside cleanup crew standing beside the glass collected.
By mid-morning, the collected bottles stretched down the hallway, past the Rotary Red Hook Thrift Shop in dozens of buckets and bags, waiting for the crushers. The bags kept collapsing as the team tried to pull bottles out, so Mik laid sheets of cardboard on the ground, spilled the bags out and sorted them by hand.
Every bottle is inspected before it goes in the crusher. Some labels have to be removed because they can hold the broken glass together and jam the machine. Additionally the metal or plastic rings on wine bottles are cut off. The glass is then sorted into clear, green, and brown. Blue glass, especially rare, is set aside for special projects. Everyone wears full protective gear, including respirators, eye and ear protection, gloves, long sleeves and long pants.
In a normal week, the crushers produce 8 to 12 bags, or about 200-300 lbs. However, on this day they filled 36 bags. “That’s the most we’ve ever crushed at one time,” said club president Steve Shegrud.
The crushed glass is currently used as backfill, water diversion and decorative outdoor furniture. The club has also experimented with using glass as aggregate in pavers and as a reflective plaster. The goal is to develop a system that a local business could one day run commercially using the crushed glass product. For now, it’s beneficial that the glass is kept out of the landfill, but the team is actively looking for innovative ways to better utilize the product.
Photo collage containing examples of potential uses for crushed glass in construction, landscaping, and art projects.
Since that initial cleanup event and glass drop-off, Mr. Williams is dedicated to maintaining the same stretch of road with smaller weekly cleanups as well as expanding to other areas including Coki Beach, St. John, and Joseph Gomez Elementary School. Williams has continued to bring glass bottles to be recycled and has also started separating out plastics and aluminum cans for a recycling program run by the VI Conservation Society (VICS) at The Market STT on Saturdays from 8-11am, and Northside Moe’s on Thursdays from 4-6pm.
Ivan Williams’ approach has inspired club members to assist and grow his efforts. Mik Morales and others are developing a proposal for an ongoing roadside restoration program, where volunteer teams and sponsors would adopt a stretch of road and care for it over time. The work would go beyond picking up litter: clearing larger abandoned debris in coordination with local agencies, planting native ground cover and other nature-based solutions to improve drainage and reduce erosion, and posting signs that show neighbors the results and invite them to care for their own stretch of road. The vision as described by Morales is that, “driving around from your car, you’re seeing nothing but beauty.”
Feeling inspired and wondering how you can help?- Join a community cleanup: Ivan Williams organizes regular roadside cleanups around St. Thomas. To volunteer, call or text him at 951-323-8636. Volunteers must be 18 or older. Wear a hat, long sleeves, long pants, and sturdy boots, and bring water.
- Recycle your glass: Drop off rinsed glass bottles to the Rotary Club of St. Thomas East Eco to be crushed on Saturday mornings. Glass can also be dropped off after hours in the bins outside the Red Hook Thrift Shop. However, they must be placed inside the bins, not beside them, out of respect for the other tenants.
- Use the crushed glass product: Bags are for sale at the Red Hook Thrift Shop during open hours, Wednesdays - Saturdays from 10 AM - 4 PM. A 25 lb bag costs $3 for mixed, $4 for sorted colors (clear, green or brown), or $20 for blue glass. Crushed glass can be used in construction, landscaping, art or other innovative projects.
- Become a “crusher”: reach out to the Rotary Club of St. Thomas East Eco (rotaryclubstthomaseast@gmail.com) to become a volunteer or just stop by on Saturdays from 10AM - 12PM. You can also contact club President Steve Shegrud directly via phone or email at 703-286-9020 or steve.shegrud@gmail.com for more information.
- Help plan our next project: Contact Mik Morales at mik06379@gmail.com to be involved in the planning stages of the roadside restoration program.
- Recycle your plastic and cans: Bring your clean plastics and aluminum to the Market STT (Saturdays 9am-11am) or Moe’s Northside (Thursdays 4-6PM) to be recycled.
- Share other local initiatives: we love to hear about other reuse and recycling initiatives so that we can share them with our community and help keep our island beautiful.