In the UK it is estimated that glass makes up about 3.2% of household waste with glass recycling at a rate of over 750,000 tonnes each year. There are a number of advantages to glass recycling and the product can be infinitely recycled without compromising its quality.
In the first instance, glass recycling saves energy compared to producing new glass as the furnaces require less energy. Recycling two glass bottles saves enough energy to boil the water for five cups of tea! In addition, glass recycling reduces the demand for raw materials. Whilst these are not in short supply, quarrying of the landscape is required so reducing this has a positive environmental impact. Non reused or recycled glass will inevitably end up in land fill sites, so glass recycling has the further benefit of reducing the amount of waste disposed of in this way. Whilst glass is inert so will not give off harmful gases, it will remain in the ground indefinitely.
Even better than glass recycling is actually reusing your glass containers, as this uses no energy at all! Whilst returning bottles in exchange for a refundable deposit was at one time commonplace, nowadays milk bottles are one of the few types of glass bottle which are returned for reuse (they are, on average, reused twelve times). You can, however, reuse glass bottles and jars yourself, perhaps for homemade jam or for storing nuts and bolts.
Glass recycling in the UK is usually simple with many local authorities offering kerbside collections and bottle banks widely distributed. You can recycle all glass containers but not lightbulbs, Pyrex, Visionware or flat glass such as windows or windscreens. To locate your nearest bottle bank visit www.recycle-more.co.uk
For more information on glass recycling visit www.wasteonline.org.uk
Source: www.defra.gov.uk 2012
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