Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How are glass bottles and jars made?

A. Glass is made from readily-available domestic materials, including sand, soda ash, limestone and “cullet”, the industry term for furnace-ready scrap/recycled glass. The only material used in greater volumes than recycled glass, or cullet, is sand. These materials are mixed, or “batched”, heated to a temperature of 2600 to 2800 degrees Fahrenheit and molded into the desired shape.

Q. How does recycling fit into the glass manufacturing process?

A. Recycled glass is substituted for up to 70% of raw materials. Manufacturers benefit from recycling in several ways—it reduces emissions and consumption of raw materials, extends the life of plant equipment, such as furnaces, and saves energy. More on glass recycling and the environment

Q. Why are more recycled glass bottles and jars needed?

A. Because glass manufacturers require high-quality recycled container glass to meet market demands for new glass containers. Cullet is always part of the recipe for glass, and the more that is used, the greater reduction in energy used for the furnace. This lowers manufacturing costs—and benefits the environment.

And in 2008, glass container manufacturers set a goal to achieve 50% recycled content in the manufacture of new glass bottles by 2013. A lot more recycled glass bottles and jars are needed to reach this goal. Using 50% recycled glass to make new glass containers would save enough energy to power 21,978 homes for one year and remove 181,550 tons of waste from landfills every month.

Q. What types of glass can be recycled?

A. Glass containers, such as those used for food and beverages, can be recycled. Other types of glass, like window glass, ovenware, Pyrex, crystal, etc. are manufactured through a different process. If these materials are introduced into the manufacturing process, they can cause production problems and defective containers.

Furnace-ready cullet must also be free of contaminants such as metals, ceramics, gravel, stones, etc. Color sorting makes a difference, too. Glass manufacturers are limited in the amount of mixed cullet they can use to make new bottles. Separating recycled container glass by color allows the industry to ensure that new bottles match the color standards required by glass container customers. Get a list of common contaminants

Q. What is the best way to recycle glass?

A. Ideally, any recycling program that results in color separated, contaminant-free recycled glass helps ensure that these materials are recycled into new glass containers. While curbside collection of glass containers can generate high participation and large amounts of recyclables, drop-off, commercial collection, and deposit programs can often yield higher-quality container glass.

In curbside collection programs that use single-stream recycling, where all recyclable materials are collected in one bin, on average, 40% of glass from single-stream collection gets recycled into new glass containers, while another 40% ends up in landfills, according to a 2009 Container Recycling Institute study. In contrast, mixed glass from dual-stream systems yields an average of 90% being recycled into containers and fiberglass.

And, in the 11 states with container deposit laws the average glass container recycling rate is just over 63% (according to the Container Recycling Institute). Collecting glass containers from on-premise sources such as bars, restaurants, and hotels, can also yield both higher quantity and quality of recycled glass. For example, in 2008, NC passed a law requiring all Alcohol Beverage Permit holders to recycle their beverage containers. Since then, an additional 57,000 tons of new glass bottles have been recovered for recycling. More on community glass recycling

Q. Do glass bottles have to be separated by color when recycling?

It depends on your local recycling program. Glass is more valuable if it’s kept color separated at the source, but in many curbside programs glass bottles and jars are collected mixed. At drop-off programs, however, clear, brown, and green glass may be collected in separate containers, which makes the recycled glass more valuable to the end market. Color sorted glass allows the industry to ensure that new bottles match the color standards required by glass container customers to make new bottles and jars.

Q. Do glass bottles have to be washed before recycling?

No. Labels and organics clinging to the glass container don’t present a problem to the glass recycler. But just like other food and beverage containers, rinsing food jars is a good practice to avoid a mess—and smell—in the recycling bin. And be sure to keep out non-container glass, like ceramic coffee cups, Pyrex, light bulbs, and dishware.

Q. Are glass bottles included in state beverage deposit programs?

Yes, in the 10 states with container deposit laws, sometimes called bottle bills, all of them include at least one type of glass container. Consumers pay a fee for each container purchased which is then refunded when a container is brought back for recycling. States with bottle bills have an average glass container recycling rate of just over 63%, according to the Container Recycling Institute.

Q. Can broken glass bottles be recycled?

Broken glass bottles and jars are okay, but not crushed. Avoid crushing glass, as contaminates such as ceramic, porcelain, and ovenware, are reduced in size and multiply in number. This size reduction requires additional efforts from the recycler to remove these contaminants so that the recycled glass can be used in the manufacture of new glass bottles and jars.

Q. Are glass containers recycled at restaurants and bars?

Recycling glass bottles, along with other beverage containers, at on-premise locations is a growing trend in the U.S. This includes bars, restaurants, and hotels in California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, and Texas. In 2008, for example, North Carolina passed a law requiring all Alcohol Beverage Permit holders to recycle their beverage containers. Since then, an additional 57,000 tons of new glass bottles have been recovered for recycling. Find out more about on-premise recycling

Q. My community doesn’t accept glass for recycling. Why?

Most likely it’s because there is not a market for recycled glass nearby. Materials processing costs, to improve the quality of the recycled glass, plus any transportation costs can also make glass recycling economics challenging in some locations. While there is a high demand for recycled container glass, there tends to be an uneven geographic dispersion of end-markets, and there is also a lot of competition for recycled glass for other uses besides making new glass bottles. Find out if your community recycles glass bottles

Q. How large is the U.S. glass container manufacturing industry?

A. There are 48 glass manufacturing plants operating in 22 states. Approximately 75 cullet, or recycled glass, processors are in 30 states. On average, a typical glass processing facility can handle 20 tons of color-sorted glass per hour. Locate a glass manufacturer

Q. Is there a way to recover glass that container manufacturers can’t accept?

A. Cullet that doesn’t meet container manufacturing standards, as well as non-container glass, are used as abrasives, in countertops and flooring, tile, filtration, sand blasting, concrete pavement, decorative items, landscaping, and fiber glass. More on secondary uses for glass