Empty Harvest

Empty Harvest Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Empty Harvest, Recycling Center, Fredericksburg, TX.

Empty Harvest is a newly formed 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to collect and recycle/repurpose the waste glass, cardboard and cork from the 100+ wineries, breweries and distilleries in our area.

From September 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025”, with only 3 regularly participating wineries a a few community event,...
01/14/2026

From September 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025”, with only 3 regularly participating wineries a a few community event, we are proud to present our year-end impact. Impart we can do with more industry partners!

The recycling results are in for November, 2025. While not on the scale of our October numbers (thank you  ) they are st...
12/05/2025

The recycling results are in for November, 2025. While not on the scale of our October numbers (thank you ) they are still respectable, especially given our shamefully low industry participation. (C’mon people!).

We collected 1,464 bottles and over 300 cardboard boxes of all shapes and sizes. The approximate total weight is estimated to be over 2,100 pounds.

We avoided 585 lbs of CO2 emissions (equal to driving an average car 450 miles), saved 207 kWh (enough to power an average home for 7 days), saved 1,600 gal. of water (enough to fill a bathtub 40 times) and saved 4 trees!

Think of what we can accomplish with more participating wineries!

This lineup represents 66 distinct wine and beverage brands currently operating in our service area (there more). How ma...
11/19/2025

This lineup represents 66 distinct wine and beverage brands currently operating in our service area (there more). How many of these can you imagine are recycling their waste glass and cardboard with Empty Harvest on a routine basis? FOUR! That’s right, only 6% of these businesses. Many are told they “recycle” but they’re not told their collected glass is landfilled. I can’t speak for them but I make it a practice NOT to pay for nothing.
Obviously, most of these brands were collected from organized events, thank you to and ! The four we collect from have provided more recyclable material than those two events x 3. Imagine what we can do with better participation.
Please spread the word that our services exist and we guarantee no bottle are landfill, they are recycled and repurposed.

Despite a few sprinkles, yesterday’s weather held and the   appears to have been enjoyed by all. Thanks for letting us r...
11/02/2025

Despite a few sprinkles, yesterday’s weather held and the appears to have been enjoyed by all. Thanks for letting us recycle the empty wine bottles, corks and cardboard from this years event. Here’s hoping our services continue to catch the attention of the fantastic wineries in the Texas Hill Country!

10/28/2025

Our total collection numbers for October are in and our partnership with really gave us a boost! We have now collected materials from 55 unique area labels. While some are individual brands under one winery umbrella it’s still represents an impressive number. The bad news (you know there has to be some) is that only 5% of those labels routinely call upon our services.

WE NEED YOUR HELP. Ask your favorite winery if they recycle. If they don’t, why not? If they say or think they do I can almost guarantee their provider is “exaggerating”.

Ok, results for October-6,415 bottles, 320 boxes!

YTD
Total materials recycled: 7,883 lbs (3.94 tons)
Total energy saved: 2,593 kWhCO
Emissions avoided: 2,365 (1.07 metric tons)
Equivalent Impacts:
Enough saved to power an avg U.S. home for 2.5 months
2,600 miles of driving emissions avoided
Nearly 4 tons of waste kept from our landfill

Imagine what we can do with more and more participation!

Wow, what a weekend for our glass, cardboard and cork recycling at the   festival. Details to follow on what was collect...
10/26/2025

Wow, what a weekend for our glass, cardboard and cork recycling at the festival. Details to follow on what was collected but I want to profusely thank the staff and volunteers at this year’s event for including us!

Businesses help businesses to recycle.  We are pleased to announce the delivery of 6 cases of empty wine bottles to  .sh...
10/18/2025

Businesses help businesses to recycle. We are pleased to announce the delivery of 6 cases of empty wine bottles to .shop where they will be repurposed into long-lasting, creative and locally made candles. Recycling works on many levels!

We Americans are a forward-looking bunch and know, instinctively that recycling is the right thing to do. We’ve created ...
10/14/2025

We Americans are a forward-looking bunch and know, instinctively that recycling is the right thing to do. We’ve created an affordable and convenient way for local area wineries, distilleries and breweries to be responsible stewards of our environment.

Most of us assume “everyone recycles” but, sadly that’s not the case. When visiting your favorite purveyor of adult beverages ask them if they recycle their glass, cardboard or cork. Help us spread the word that we can help!

We are thrilled to be supplying recycling services to  ! Thanks to the sponsors and participants for allowing us to demo...
10/08/2025

We are thrilled to be supplying recycling services to ! Thanks to the sponsors and participants for allowing us to demonstrate that wine cases and bottles are better recycled than thrown out.

This is what 1,522 wine bottles and 288 empty boxes look like. You’ll notice they are not in the landfill but destined f...
10/02/2025

This is what 1,522 wine bottles and 288 empty boxes look like. You’ll notice they are not in the landfill but destined for reuse and recycling. This represents one month’s worth of material from approximately TWO PERCENT of the wineries, breweries and distilleries in the Texas hill country. TWO PERCENT. Surely we can do better than that!

* Reduced trash runs: Cardboard boxes and glass bottles are bulky and quickly fill a regular garbage can. Unsightly over...
09/19/2025

* Reduced trash runs: Cardboard boxes and glass bottles are bulky and quickly fill a regular garbage can. Unsightly overflowing cans leave a bad impression. Flattening cardboard boxes and sorting glass allows more waste to be collected in a single trip, meaning fewer trips to the outside dumpster.
* Faster and cleaner process: Separating glass jars and bottles with food residue prevents contamination of the entire waste stream. Properly rinsed glass containers keep the main trash bin cleaner and odor-free, which reduces the time and effort needed for cleaning and managing household garbage. This also enhances pest control efforts by minimizing attractive odors and food sources.
* Efficiency Matters: How many times must a paid employee handle trash? The fewer the better, I think they’d agree. Set aside the recyclable material and we’ll handle the final stage (at a cost less than you’re paying that employee).
* Less Trash in the dumpster means fewer pickups which equals more savings.

Imagine, this weekend alone 200-300 cases of wine will be enjoyed by visitors in Gillespie/Blanco counties. 12 empty bot...
09/13/2025

Imagine, this weekend alone 200-300 cases of wine will be enjoyed by visitors in Gillespie/Blanco counties. 12 empty bottles + the cardboard weighs approximately 15lbs. Sadly, 99.9% of this will end up in area landfills…why? Let’s take a closer look at the impact of NOT recycling:

100 cases — CO₂ savings lost
• ≈ 842 car miles
• ≈ 38.3 gallons of gasoline
• ≈ 815 kWh of electricity enough to run a 60 W incandescent bulb for ~13,589 hours (≈1.55 years continuously).
• Or a 10 W LED for ~81,534 hours (≈9.3 years continuous).

150 cases — CO₂ savings lost
• ≈ 1,262 car miles.
• ≈ 57.4 gallons of gasoline.
• ≈ 1,223 kWh.
• 60 W incandescent: ~20,384 hours.
• 10 W LED: ~122,302 hours.

200 cases — CO₂ savings lost
• ≈ 1,683 car miles.
• ≈ 76.5 gallons of gasoline.
• ≈ 1,631 kWh.
• 60 W incandescent: ~27,178 hours.
• 10 W LED: ~163,070 hours.

Quick human comparisons (to help picture scale)
• 100 cases: lost CO₂ ≈ driving a mid-size gasoline car ~840 miles (one long road trip).
• 100 cases: the electricity equivalent (~815 kWh) is roughly one year of electricity for a very energy-efficient household (small/apartment) or ~3 months for an average U.S. household (depending on household usage).
• 200 cases: displacing ~3,175 lb of virgin minerals (sand, soda ash, limestone) — that’s a noticeable bulk of newly mined material!

There are costs for our choices NOT to recycle. Ask your favorite winery if they recycle their glass, cardboard and cork. If they don’t say “yes, we use Empty Harvest “ well…

Address

Fredericksburg, TX
78624

Opening Hours

Thursday 11am - 5:30pm
Friday 11am - 5:30pm
Saturday 11am - 5:30pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+18304569324

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