Americans show growing support for glass container recycling during GPI’s second annual Recycle Glass Week!
GPI’s second annual Recycle Glass Week, held September 12-18, united communities across the U.S. with glass container manufacturers, suppliers, and recyclers around local events to build awareness and boost glass bottle recycling. With 55 awareness activities in 20 states, Recycle Glass Week created buzz across the country that recycling glass bottles and jars has powerful environmental and energy saving benefits.
Check out some highlights:
Indianapolis Bars and Restaurants Benefit from “Recycling 100—A Broad Ripple Recycling Event”
 In a “win-win” collaboration, Verallia, formally Saint-Gobain Containers, and Green Broad Ripple Village in Indianapolis, Indiana, organized the drop off of 100 glass bottle recycling bins for bars and restaurants during Recycle Glass Week as part of the Broad Ripple glass bottle recycling program. For this expanded recycling initiative, Strategic Materials donated a second large collection receptacle. The recycled glass will be sold to Verallia’s Dunkirk plant where it will be re-melted and formed into new glass containers. The Broad Ripple collaboration should result in the collection of more than 20 tons of recycled glass each month for bottle-to-bottle recycling! More
Students Learn about Glass Bottle Recycling through Verallia Captain Cullet Educational Events
Verallia, formerly Saint-Gobain Containers, educated elementary school students about the importance of choosing and recycling glass in California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. They also continue to reach out to youth across the country through a new virtual educational program on the Captain Cullet website.
Community Glass Container Recycling Drives Get Results
Anchor Glass Container collected 17 tons of glass for bottle-to-bottle recycling! Anchor Glass Container's Jacksonville, Florida, employees collected an extraordinary 9.5 tons of glass containers with their second-annual Recycle Glass Week employee shift competition. Anchor’s Henryetta, Oklahoma, plant employees collected an impressive 5 tons of glass bottles and jars around the community, and in Salem, New Jersey, over 2 tons of glass was collected at the Anchor facility. In Winchester, Indiana, Anchor collected just over 1,000 lbs of glass and made a generous donation to the local food pantry with food items packaged in glass containers.
 Community members gathered in Atlanta, Georgia, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Tracy, California, and Zanesville, Ohio, for O-I’s glass container collection events. O-I employees at the North American Headquarters in Perrysburg, Ohio, collected 4 tons of glass bottles and jars for closed-loop recycling—exceeding their goal. Read the news article
Rocky Mountain Bottle Company collected nearly a ton of glass over 10 days in and around the Wheat Ridge, Colorado area, which was enough to meet the company’s goal and trigger a $1000 donation to the United Way! Based on these results, they are also working to make the glass-only recycling bin in Westminster, Colorado permanent.
And in Houston, Texas, residents rallied for glass during We CAN Recycle Inc’s first-ever G-Cycle recycling collection event, where people stopped by to learn about value of glass container recycling and drop-off their glass bottles and jars.
Check out more events and photos. A complete wrap-up of 2010 Recycle Glass Week events will be available on the GPI web site and in the October issue of Inside Glass Packaging.
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Glass Container Industry Releases Comprehensive Cradle-to-Cradle LCA
Study confirms positive environmental impact of glass packaging and recycling
 The North American glass container industry released the first complete cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment (LCA) ever conducted for the industry. Coordinated by the Glass Packaging Institute, the LCA reaffirms the benefits of glass container recycling for the environment. The use of recycled glass, or cullet, in manufacturing results in a decrease in primary energy demand and reduces carbon emissions.
“The LCA confirms the industry is on the right track with the goal to use 50 percent recycled glass in the manufacture of new glass bottles and jars by the end of 2013,” said Joseph Cattaneo, GPI president. “The study shows increased cullet helps reduce energy emissions, conserve raw materials, extend the life of glass manufacturing furnaces, and save energy.”
While some maintain that the transportation of glass bottles has more of an environmental impact because of the weight of the containers, a key finding of the LCA dismisses this claim. The conclusion: when looked at it in its entirety, the environmental benefits stemming from the recycling of glass containers more than offset any increased impact generated by slightly heavier containers.
The transportation of raw materials and cullet used in glass production represents less than 4% to 5% of the total energy used in the production of container glass. While each glass container has its own carbon profile, on average, existing recycle rates offset the CO2 burden when shipping foods and beverages across America. The 50% percent content rate will only serve to further reduce carbon emissions. Get the complete report
GPI Pays Tribute to Six “Friends of Glass”
 GPI recognized six “Friends of Glass” during Recycle Glass Week 2010, honoring those companies, organizations, and persons making significant and innovative efforts to promote or participate in glass container recycling for bottle-to-bottle use. Each “Friend of Glass” award is made of 100% recycled bottle glass by Weisenbach Recycled Products in Columbus, Ohio.
Here are the 2010 “Friends of Glass” Honorees:
“We appreciate the efforts of these 2010 honorees to bring awareness to the value of glass container recycling. We need these and many more friends of glass to ultimately reach the goal of using 50 percent recycled glass in the manufacture of new containers by the end of 2013,” says Joseph Cattaneo, GPI president. Learn more about the 2010 Friends of Glass
2010 Recycle Glass Week e-hunt Winners Announced
 GPI got consumers up-to-speed on the value of recycling their glass bottles with its first-ever Recycle Glass Week “e-hunt.” The online virtual scavenger hunt was launched to build excitement for GPI’s second-annual Recycle Glass Week, September 12–18. Check out the winners
“The Recycle Glass Week e-hunt proved a fun and interactive way for hundreds of consumers to learn about the huge environmental benefits that come from recycling glass bottles and jars,” says Joseph Cattaneo, GPI president. “The success of the e-hunt shows that individuals are interested in recycling to help create a greener future.” GPI's Recycle Glass Week e-hunt is also a finalist in PR News' Digital Awards 2010. Winners will be announced on October 6.
Captaincullet.com Launches New Website Design and Virtual Program
 To expand the reach of the Captain Cullet and the Little Gob o’ Glass education program, Verallia launched a new website design and a “virtual” glass recycling program at CaptainCullet.com. The primary message is the difference one person can make when they recycle their glass bottles and jars.
Included in the virtual program are two new characters, Professor Flint and Plant Manager Amber. They lead the user through exciting games and puzzles in Part 1 of the program. The user can also watch Feature 1, “The Adventures of Captain Cullet and the Little Gob o’ Glass: A Story of Hope and Recycling,” or Feature 2, “Becoming a Glass Super Agent,” or both. Part 2 includes quiz questions and an important glass recycling message. After completing the course, youth can print a personalized “Glass Super Agent” certificate.
Other exciting additions to the website include a “Fun Stuff” page where users can download an Activity Book, coloring pages, bookmarks, Glass Super Agent badges, or Desktop Wallpaper. An Interactive Click and Color is also featured allowing users to click on the color palate and then apply it to a blank online coloring sheet. Become a Facebook fan, and
follow Captain Cullet on Twitter.
PACKAGING TRENDS
2010 Clear Choice Awards Winners Revealed
Top 10 Package Designs of 2010 Showcase Innovation
 GPI named the winners of its 21st Annual Clear Choice Awards through a virtual event on the GPI website featuring video of the winners and photos of the award-winning product designs.
This year’s Awards recognized 10 consumer product goods companies and their achievements in expanding the frontiers of glass packaging design. “More consumers should know of the good work that is being done with glass packaging,” says Mark “Coach” Smallwood, Mid Atlantic Green Mission Specialist/Local Forager at Whole Foods and a 2010 Clear Choice Awards judge.
“Glass is still the ‘clear choice’ for consumers who want a package that offers a premium look and feel, as well as product protection,” says Joseph Cattaneo, GPI president. “Designing and packaging in glass for foods, beverages, and fragrances ensures your product has a competitive edge.” Read more and get a list of the winners
Whole Foods Market® New Sustainable Packaging Guidelines Encourage Switch to Glass
 Whole Foods Market® announced it has implemented new responsible packaging guidelines for all of its more than 2,100 body care and supplement suppliers company-wide. The guidelines mandate that Whole Body suppliers reduce the use of plastic in product packaging, encourage the switch to glass when possible and limit acceptable packaging materials to those that are the most recyclable and/or feature the highest possible recycled content.
To develop the guidelines, the company worked with 25 of their largest Whole Body product suppliers. They also utilized packaging experts in plastic, glass, and paper mediums to help define the most responsible path for product suppliers to take when designing their packaging.
Suppliers have one year to conform to the new guidelines, which went into effect at all of Whole Foods' 300 stores in North America and the UK September 1, 2010. “We’re thrilled by how responsive our vendors have been in making changes to provide even more green options for our customers,” said Jeremiah McElwee, global Whole Body coordinator for Whole Foods Market. More
GLASS RECYCLING
Editorial: Recycling our Way to Recovery
In conjunction with Recycle Glass Week, GPI president Joseph Cattaneo released the opinion editorial, “Recycling our Way to Recovery,” which describes the economic impact of the recycling industry and how a greater emphasis on recycling, both by consumers and the country at large, could help produce more living-wage jobs domestically.
For its part, the glass container industry, its companies, and thousands of employees set an ambitious goal in late 2008 of using at least 50% recycled glass in the manufacture of new glass bottles and jars by the end of 2013. In several states, glass manufacturing plants are already using 70% recycled glass, or cullet, to make new glass containers, showing that reaching the goal nationwide is possible and imminent. Read the editorial
Atlanta’s Buckhead Community Embraces Zero Waste and Targets ABC Permit Holders
 According to an article in the Buckhead Reporter, titled “Want Permit to Sell Alcohol? Recycle”, Atlanta’s Buckhead Coalition is stepping up efforts to educate and encourage participation in its zero waste initiatives.
Garth Peters, Buckhead Coalition Director of Community Development, as well as a member of the board that hears and votes on licensing, is questioning applicants for alcoholic beverage licenses in the Buckhead Community about their recycling efforts and plans to participate in the Zero Waste Zone program. Although not required, the Coalition is putting some pressure on retailers to get on board.
Zero Waste Zone - Buckhead was launched in February 2009, and asks restaurants to pledge to recycle glass bottles and other containers as well as paper, reuse spent grease for biofuels, and compost or donate leftover food.
1000 WORDS
UK Prime Minister Considers Reintroducing “Money Back Bottle” Program
 According to the UK Daily Mail, Prime Minister David Cameron is considering reintroducing the “money back bottle” program, similar to U.S. container deposit programs, where people can return empty containers, including glass, for cash refunds. Learn more
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