Wichita ? The main recycling company in Kansas’ largest city will stop taking glass before the end of the year, saying the procedure is too costly.

Weyerhaeuser Co. said it would stop taking glass bottles Dec. 1.

Glass costs more to ship than it is worth to the processors who melt down old bottles and make new ones.

Weyerhaeuser, which processes items from drop-off boxes throughout Sedgwick County, has been paying about $7 a ton, or about $280 a month, to subsidize glass recycling.

“It was a decision that was hard to make,” said Bridget Lemen, the plant manager.

“We couldn’t come up with any redeeming reason to keep doing it,” she said.

That leaves one company, Kamen Inc., in the glass recycling business.

Owner Sheldon Kamen said he took glass as a public service.

“If the amount Weyerhaeuser takes is transferred to us, it’s going to cause a problem,” he said.

Plastic recycling also is struggling.

Two companies, Second Chance Plastics Inc. and PlasticHood Recycling Co., have stopped taking plastic items such as butter tubs and fast-food containers.

The problem in recycling markets come at a time when the Sedgwick County Commission is encouraging people to recycle through advertising campaigns.

The lack of markets could drive the area’s recycling rate, which is already well below the national average, even lower.

Sedgwick County, which funds the drop-off recycling program, is hoping to find something to recycle in place of glass. It may add bins for magazines or other types of paper in December.