Since Fairfax County has stopped curbside glass recycling, Griffin Jiron, a Madison senior, took the issue into his own hands and founded the The Grape Team. 

“I felt that we were living in a ‘repost and stop caring’ era on social media and in the news, so I decided to actually take action and work to make a change I wanted to see in the world,” Founder and President, Griffin Jiron (’21), said.

With 15 people on the team, Grape promotes a habit of recycling, environmental policy and social issues through their Instagram account. In addition, they do weekly glass pickups in the Vienna and Oakton area.

“Currently, we service over 130 houses every week, taking their used glass and recycling it at the communal facility so they don’t have to,” Jiron said.

Houses that participate leave out bins with their used glass, hence the name “grape.” 

“In the beginning I was thinking of an acronym that would go well with what we were doing, but I couldn’t really think of anything past ‘GR’,” Jiron said. “The bins we deliver glass to are purple, and so are grapes, so I went with it and have used the name ever since.”

Using a spreadsheet, Jiron and other volunteers drive to these houses and collect their glass. After that, they head to Mill St. where there is a big purple recycling bin so that residents do not have to do it themselves. 

There are many plans for the team in the future, such as fundraisers, selling merchandise for charity and creating products from used glass. 

“Depending on how our team grows in the future, we could organize community events, which would be amazing,” Jiron said. “To get people excited and engaged about the environment would be a dream come true. We’re always looking for volunteers! If you can drive that’s a big plus, but if not, there are other things to do to help.”