HOW IS GLASS RECYCLED?

* The glass which is disposed in the rubbish bin will reach the landfills along with all other waste.
* Glass is recycled in all the glass banks around the globe.
* Many supermarkets have glass-recycling banks, enabling you to recycle glass on your weekly shop.
* Most home recycle bins, provided by your local council, usually accept glass.
* Glass collected at the curbside is usually color separated on the vehicle or is sold as mixed glass for color separation or for use in alternative markets.
* Glass from pubs and clubs is usually collected color separated in wheeled bins, but often it is collected in mixed bins due to lack of space.
* Glass is usually separated into three colors. Brown, green and clear.
* Recycled glass contains contaminants which must be removed before it is used to make new containers. Metal, paper, plastic, organics, ceramic and pyro-ceramic must all be removed. This is done using manual inspection and high-tech equipment utilizing metal detectors, vacuums, crushers, screens, lasers, digital cameras and even x-rays to detect and remove contamination.
* Once the recycled glass has been cleaned and prepared it is mixed with raw materials and the whole process of glass product manufacturing begins again.
* Recycling glass mainly constitutes of 6 major steps:

>> Dumping Glass
>> Glass Collection
>> Commercial collection
>> Removing contaminants
>> Container making
>> Alternative uses.

FACTS

1. Currently we landfill around 1,400,000 tonnes of glass each year. This is a real lost opportunity!
2. 100% of recycled glass can be used to make new glass bottles and jars, without any loss in quality.
3. Green bottles are made with up to 90% recycled glass content.
4. Can you believe that glass recycling in 2003 saved enough energy to launch 10 space shuttle missions?