Glass is a 100% recyclable material, and when recycled properly it can be reused and made into new products without compromising on purity or quality. Glass takes a long time to decompose, potentially up to one million years, so we must dispose of it responsibly and recycle as much glass as possible.
Importance Of Recycling Glass
Sand, soda ash and limestone need to be quarried to make new glass and a significant amount of energy is used to extract and process these materials. By recycling glass bottles and jars, we can reduce the number of natural resources we consume and reduce the pollution created during the manufacturing process. You can learn more about the benefits of recycling in our dedicated article.
How Is Glass Recycled?
When it comes to finding out how to recycle glass, the process is relatively simple. As with many different types of recycling, the process starts with collecting waste glass and transporting it to be processed. In terms of the history of recycling, glass was one of the first materials to be included as part of a widespread recycling initiative, with bottle banks introduced across the UK for members of the public to deposit their waste glass.
Collection
Depending on where you live, there are different ways of collecting your waste glass to be recycled. Some local authorities collect glass bottles and jars from your home with the rest of your recycling, in other areas, you’ll need to collect the glass and then take it to the nearest glass bin or bottle bank. These are often placed in convenient areas such as supermarket car parks and at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC).
Transportation And Sorting
Glass is then transported to a suitable facility where it is sorted and prepared for processing. If required, the glass will be sorted by colour using machinery. Bottles and jars are often mixed with other non-glass items when they are collected, these items must be sorted and separated. Then the remaining glass is washed and any remaining paper, metal or other contaminants are removed.
Crushing And Mixing
The glass is then crushed into smaller pieces, this makes it quicker and easier to melt the glass, helping to reduce the amount of energy required by the glass recycling process. The crushed glass is then mixed with raw materials before being melted.
Melting And Moulding
The mixture of crushed, recycled glass and other raw materials is added to a furnace and heated until it becomes molten. The molten glass is then blown or moulded to create new products.
Types Of Glass That Can And Can’t Be Recycled
Although glass bottles and jars can easily be recycled over and over again, some types of glass are made using a different process and should not be mixed with bottles and jars for recycling. You should only recycle glass that is clearly labelled with the circular arrow ‘Recycle’ logo or symbol. Some examples of glass items that cannot be recycled include windows, mirrors, drinking glasses, light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, and crystal glass. This is because they contain metal, additional materials, chemicals and additives that cannot be reprocessed into usable glass.
How Much Glass Is Recycled In The UK?
Currently, in the UK, around 70% of the glass bottles and jars produced are recycled after use. Most people know how to recycle glass, but the methods of collection are different depending on the area of the country you live in, so sometimes people do not have easy access to glass recycling facilities.
Businesses, hotels, restaurants, and the hospitality sector send over 200,000 tonnes of waste glass to landfill every year in the UK, the majority of which could have been recycled. There is still more to be done to increase our levels of glass recycling to compete with countries like Slovenia, Sweden and Belgium where 95% of glass is recycled.
In Conclusion
Whether you’re just recycling wine bottles or replacing the windows in your home, knowing how the glass recycling process works might convince you to recycle it more. By doing your bit for the environment we can ensure that there less waste in the world and make it a greener place.