Glass Recycling at Home
A single lightning strike on a sandy beach creates glass in about one second. Once glass is created, by nature or humans, it never really goes away. It’s estimated that glass takes one million years to fully degrade in a landfill.
When we recycle glass, we are not only reducing the amount of energy used to make it, but we are also conserving raw materials and saving landfill space. But before you throw all your glass in your curbside recycling bin, let’s take a look at the different types you may find in your home.
Recycling Glass By Type
Glass Bottles and Jars
Glass bottles and jars for food and beverages can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality. This includes clear, green and brown glass. Containers should be gently rinsed to help reduce food contamination. Labels and lids can be left on as they are separated during the sorting and recycling processes.
Glass containers are separated at the sorting facilities using small rubber screens that allow the glass pieces to fall through the screens and away from other recyclables. Glass piles up until it is loaded into a dumpster and transported to local recycling plants.
These glass bottles, jars and containers are recycled into more food and beverage containers, but they will also often be used in glass countertops, fiberglass insulation, concrete and artificial turf.
Treated Glass
Not included in curbside recycling programs is treated glass like mirrors, window glass, dinnerware, drinkware and ceramics. These items are different than other glass. They are treated with chemicals to make them more durable. This heat resistant glass should never be placed into recycling bins because even the smallest amount can ruin good, recyclable material during the melting process. Instead they should be placed in your household garbage container for disposal.
For tips on how to properly prepare bulky pieces of glass for pickup, please visit our hard to handle page.
To get the most out of your curbside program, remember Basic Recycling is Better Recycling. If we get back to the basics, we can reduce contamination levels and keep worldwide recycling programs in place for future generations.
