Meet Subhi Khdeir | Owner of Be Glassy Atlanta

We had the good fortune of connecting with Subhi Khdeir and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Subhi, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I’ve found the idea of comfort to be somewhat commonplace in America. People value innovation and want to see better technology, better systems in place, better everything but they want it to be easy. If it requires an additional input, then people put it off for later or they will ignore it completely. For me, leaving a corporate job that was paying well and having the comfort that so many others have was not easy. I’ve been in sales my whole career and made great money doing it. The kicker was that I was selling things that didn’t make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of it all. My nature is curious and I tend to be environmentally and geopolitically inclined, so when I think of making an impact I think immediately of our world, the degradation of natural resources and how we can solve problems that we will face. Im a nerd for innovative technologies in the environmental space, for example, renewable energy excites me. In my previous role, I was selling neurotoxins, most people know it as Botox, which yeah it’s great for those who love it but it didn’t align with my nature.

As far as risk goes, for those who are willing to put in effort to see something through and work at it, there are endless opportunities. Those people will understand that making things easier for people will win them over. For example, If we can make glass recycling easier for people, then people will recycle glass. This is the belief behind our company. In this way, I view risk as the predecessor of fruition. One must take risks to achieve something and it has taken me in all different directions throughout my life.

What should our readers know about your business?
Be Glassy Atlanta is the only glass recycling residential pickup service, at your doorstep, in all of the North Atlanta Communities. It all started with a conversation actually. I had recently moved to Decatur and was taking my trash out on a summer afternoon. My neighbor happened to be walking out at the same time I was, so as neighbors do, I waved and said hi. He came over to my driveway with an in full of glass and began complaining about how our recycling didn’t accept glass but the city of Decatur did. He said I have to drive this to a center every month just to recycle my glass. I had glass in my recycling bin, assuming that since I lived in Decatur I could get glass recycling. Apparently I was wrong. I lived in unincorporated Dekalb county and the only people who could get glass recycled were the residents of Decatur city limits. I was confused and actually pretty irritated. The fact is, since I was in kindergarten we learned to recycle things. It’s something that has been engrained in our education system for years now. We shouldn’t have to even have a conversation about why you need to recycle at this point, whether or not you believe in climate change, global warming or any of that. Its not political, its not objective, the pros are all there. As a measure of being a human, recycling makes sense to almost everyone. It reduces landfill, reduces pollution in communities, and allows for things to be reused to name a few of the most basic benefits. We should be talking about technologies for renewable energy, water conservation and technologies, and other important things.

So as I went through my recycling bin to extract the glass that I was wrongly placing in it (my neighbor had a very confused look on his face) I began looking up places I could take the glass instead. There are places in Dekalb you can drop your glass of at. But as I investigated further, places like Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Dunwoody all didn’t allow for glass recycling in their normal garbage collection recycling bins either. Im thinking this is crazy, a big city like ours doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle glass recycling. Surely I was reading this wrong.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t. The rabbit hole I went down was long, twisted, and never really had an end. Glass is the most recyclable product out there. Everything I read explained the difficulties of glass recycling transportation, and usually it came down to cost, safety, and efficiency. Think of all the people who incorrectly place their glass in their recycling bin every month thinking its being recycled. Think of all of the people who have to take the extra step to drive their glass to a drop off facility every month just to recycle their glass. Think of all of the people who don’t recycle because it isn’t convenient. All of these things were going through my mind and that’s when it came to me. Im starting a glass recycling business for residential homes, businesses, multifamily communities and anyone else who wants to have it! That’s how it all started. We are still new and we are small, but we have big aspirations. It’s not a new concept, its a concept that should’ve already been here. Be Glassy is built with the promise of environment first. We give portions of our profits to carbon zero initiatives, and we recycle most all glass. If it can’t be recycled we will find a way to reuse it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Atlanta is an awesome city. You need a car to get everywhere and traffic is abundant but otherwise it is a really fun city if you know where to go and have good company along side of you. We have trees everywhere which a lot of big metropolitans can’t say. Our food scene is definitely on the rise, shoutout to Buford highway for late night spots. We are close to a lot of great nature and hiking.

With all of that said, if someone was coming to visit, first I would take them to get breakfast at Waffle House. If they’ve never been there then it’s an Atlanta must. Then, to burn off all of the calories I just made them eat, I’d go to Kennesaw mountain to let them hike it off and enjoy some great views with some nice morning exercise. After that, I’d head home and get ready to go to back down to the belt-line for a day with some friends and enjoy the Krog st./Ponce City afternoon. Maybe head over to Park Tavern to continue the tour. After that we could grab a Lyft to Colony Square’s Gekko right around the corner and get some hibachi bowls. From there we’ll get a Lyft to West Midtown for an early night at the Painted Duck. Have some fun with friends, play some games.

The next day is an outdoor activity day, most likely an all day event whether it be paint balling or exploring something new like providence canyon. An all day outdoor event is a must.

Obviously if they are into touristy things I can taker them to the Aquarium or the World of Coke, but that’s like going to Mexico and only staying in Cancun. Not the full experience. The rest of the week I’d be taking them around to local spots to eat, go to a Hawks game and just see what’s going on in the city. There’s always something to do here!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I thank my mother always and forever for her continued support. She is my mentor, my support system, and my number one customer! I’ve always wanted to make her proud and buy her a house so she doesn’t have to work ever again and I plan on achieving that. She deserves all of the credit and I will always be in debt to her for her kindness to others, her guidance, and her wicked smarts. Mom, you are my hero and this is for you.

Website: https://www.beglassyatlanta.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beglassyatl/

Image Credits
All credits are from our personal team Be Glassy Atlanta