In a studio in Cuyamungue on a Friday afternoon, Broken Arrow Glass Recycling co-founder Chris Bogle heats glass, which then expands under the vibrant orange and yellow glow of the fire that reaches over 2,000 degrees. Bogle then removes the glass from the heat, shaking it around and perfecting its edges before repeating the process several times.
Bogle rejoined the team in January after departing in July 2022. He tells SFR he initially left the business on a “personal evolution journey,” but notes he always intended to return and do the art he loves.
That work now includes glass-blowing.
“I get to take a creative role designing and being in the studio,” Bogle says as he wields the scorching object at the end of a metal rod. “As an art maker and glassblower,” he notes, “working with recycled material” often amounts to a “cliché” in the art world, and involves “using these bougie materials.” In his case, “I love that I’m working with trash and turning it into something of greater value than just its initial intention of a single use container.”
The company, which launched in 2020, offers the only residential curbside glass collection program in New Mexico servicing Santa Fe, Taos, and Los Alamos.
At the outset, Broken Arrow had roughly 20 clients, Bogle notes; today, it services 300 residential clients and 20 commercial ones.
Bogle and co-founder Shelby Kaye also upcycle that glass into art, offer in-studio classes and work with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to study the raw material and create innovative and diverse products.
The business first began as a response to the challenges in the recycling sector, such as contamination, which often leads to recyclables ending up in the landfill.
“It’s not specific to New Mexico or a Santa Fe issue,” Bogle says. That’s why, “Our mission at Broken Arrow Glass is to actually recycle the material, and to then also create transparency in our program so that people can see and interact with what is happening with the glass.”
That mission continues to evolve.
“Things are going really well,” Kaye says. “They’re just really wild in the amount of growth and changes that we’re going through.”
In early May, the state awarded Broken Arrow $83,000 in Job Training Incentive Program funds. The month before, it received $18,000 from the New Mexico Regional Development Corporation to purchase new equipment.
In addition, Waste360 recently recognized Kaye in its 40 Under 40 Award program, which honors the solid waste and recycling industry’s rising stars.
“Really what we’re doing now is just continuing to build that strong foundation,” Kaye says of the work and honors. “I’m knee deep into the growth of what we’re doing right now. And so I was like, ‘OK, this is really exciting,’ but also, being one of the founders and owners of the business, I understand the grit of it. And so sometimes it’s hard to celebrate.”
Currently, Broken Arrow Glass Recycling collects approximately 20 tons of glass recycling a month, Kaye says, but with the help of the funding and continuing growth, she projects the business will be able to process roughly 60 tons per month by the end of the year.
Also on the expansion list, Kaye says, is “continuing to really engage with the community.”
“We want to get the community excited about different creative ways that they can utilize and process and reuse this material within their own home,” she says.
Kaye has already done a fair amount of outreach, such as hosting a mosaic-making project using recycled glass and concrete with the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, and collaborating with Rio Grande School sixth graders to create a terrazzo project for the school’s zen garden. Next up, she says, is the new Canyon Road Summer Walk—an event on the first Wednesday of every month from June to October of this year that offers art, live music, food and drinks. Broken Arrow Glass Recycling will have a pop-up booth for visitors to come and see their work.
Bogle says they hope to inspire others toward greater eco-responsibility.
“As community stakeholders, this is what we can do. And it brings a lot of joy, and it’s fun,” Bogle says. “I think most importantly, Broken Arrow is diverting glass from landfills, ultimately supporting Mother Earth, keeping our community, our planet, everything cleaner and better for right now and for future generations.”
Canyon Road Summer Walk
5-8 pm, Wednesday, June 5.