Glass Recycling Facts

• Glass is 100% recyclable.
• Glass can be recycled endlessly with no loss in quality or purity.
• The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
• Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill a skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!
• A modern glass bottle would take 4,000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in a landfill.
• Mining and transporting raw materials for glass produces about 385 pounds of waste for every ton of glass that is made. If recycled glass is substituted for half of the raw materials, the waste is cut by more than 80%.

Unmatched Environmental Benefits

Recycling glass containers provides for unmatched production efficiencies and significant environmental benefits:

• Saves raw materials - Over a ton of natural resources are conserved for every ton of glass recycled, including 1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash, 380 pounds of limestone, and 160 pounds of feldspar.
• Lessens the demand for energy - Energy costs drop 2-3% for every 10% cullet used in the manufacturing process.
• Cuts CO2 emissions - For every six tons of recycled container glass used, a ton of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is reduced. A relative 10% increase in cullet reduces particulates by 8%, nitrogen oxide by 4%, and sulfur oxides by 10%.
• Extends furnace life - Including cullet in the manufacturing mix makes it less corrosive and lowers the melting temperature from 2800 degrees F. to 2600 degrees F.), prolonging furnace life.
• No processing by-products - Glass recycling is a closed-loop system, creating no additional waste or by-products.

Safe and Light-Weight

• Today’s glass containers are more than 40% lighter than they were 20 years ago. Weight lightening efforts continue throughout the industry.
• Glass packaging can handle vacuum or high-pressure sealing, safeguarding against moisture and oxygen invasions. This protects food and beverages from spoilage and bacteria.
• Glass containers are impermeable, air-tight, and transparent. You can see the freshness of food and beverages.

Nontoxic and FDA Approved

• Made from nontoxic raw materials—silica, sand, soda ash, limestone and up to 70% recycled product, glass is the only packaging material certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as “generally regarded as safe”.
• Glass is nonporous and impermeable, so there are no interactions between glass packaging and products to affect the flavor of food and beverages. No nasty after taste—ever.
• Glass has an almost zero rate of chemical interaction, ensuring that the products inside a glass bottle keep their strength, aroma, and flavor.
• Glass can be specified to absorb damaging ultraviolet light, ensuring product purity and taste. In fact, glass has an inherently longer shelf life than any packaging material.
• Glass does not deteriorate, corrode, stain, or fade, so products inside a glass container remain as fresh as when they were bottled.