Specialty Glass, Inc.: Cost Accounting and Hazardous Wastes

Specialty Glass, Inc., a high-volume producer of colored sheet glass in the US Pacific Northwest, faces significant environmental and regulatory risks due to its use of toxic pigments, particularly cadmium oxide used for ruby-red glass. The company generates approximately 18,000 pounds of hazardous waste annually, including 15,300 pounds of fine ash, costing roughly $31,500 per year for disposal. While the company has implemented 'best available technology' via a furnace baghouse to capture 99.7 percent of toxic particulates, it remains vulnerable to tightening air emission regulations and the scarcity of cadmium oxide suppliers. The document highlights a tension in cost accounting, as waste disposal costs are currently treated as overhead rather than being traced to specific product lines, potentially obscuring the true cost of producing toxic glass colors.

• Specialty Glass, Inc. produces approximately 30 percent of the global supply of colored sheet glass for lamps and stained-glass windows, with annual sales of about $12 million.
• The company generates about 18,000 pounds of hazardous waste annually, consisting of 15,300 pounds of fine ash and 2,700 pounds of other hazardous waste, with disposal costs totaling approximately $31,500 per year at a rate of $1.75 per pound.
• The manufacture of ruby-red glass relies on cadmium oxide, a highly toxic chemical. Due to environmental bans in Europe and restrictive US regulations, the supply of this chemical is diminishing, with some suppliers moving production outside the US.
• To comply with air quality regulations, Specialty installed a furnace baghouse that captures 99.7 percent of toxic particulates, meeting the 'best available technology' standard, though future regulatory changes may still threaten the company's viability.
• The company currently allocates waste disposal costs as part of general overhead rather than tracing them directly to the specific colored glass products that generate the hazardous waste.

APA

Stinson, C. H. (1998). Specialty Glass, Inc.: Cost Accounting and Hazardous Wastes. World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-261-2_full_version_english.pdf

Chicago

Stinson, Christine H. Specialty Glass, Inc.: Cost Accounting and Hazardous Wastes. World Resources Institute, 1998. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-261-2_full_version_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stinson |first1=Christine H. |title=Specialty Glass, Inc.: Cost Accounting and Hazardous Wastes |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=1998 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-261-2_full_version_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stinson1998specialty, author = {Stinson, Christine H.}, title = {{Specialty Glass, Inc.: Cost Accounting and Hazardous Wastes}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1998}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-261-2_full_version_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }