Glass Recycling “Fast Facts”

• Glass bottles and jars are 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without any loss in purity or quality.
• A glass container can go from a recycling bin to a store shelf in as little as 30 days. An estimated 80% of recovered glass containers are made into new glass bottles.
• Recycling just one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours, power a computer for 30 minutes, or a television for 20 minutes.
• Glass container manufacturers have set a goal to achieve 50% recycled content in the manufacture of new glass bottles by 2013. 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.

• Over a ton of natural resources are saved for every ton of glass recycled.
• Energy costs drop about 2-3% for every 10% cullet used in the manufacturing process.
• One ton of carbon dioxide is reduced for every six tons of recycled container glass used in the manufacturing process.
• There are 48 glass manufacturing plants operating in 22 states. Approximately 76 cullet, or recycled glass, processors are in 31 states. On average, a typical glass processing facility can handle 20 tons of color-sorted glass per hour.
• In 2010 over 41% of beer and soft drink bottles were recovered for recycling, according to the U.S. EPA. Another nearly 25% of wine and liquor bottles and 18% of food and other glass jars were recycled. In total, 33.4% of all glass containers were recycled.
• States with container deposit legislation have an average glass container recycling rate of just over 63%, according to the Container Recycling Institute.
• About 18% of beverages are consumed on premise, like a bar, restaurant, or hotel. And glass makes up to about 80% of that container mix.
• In 2008, NC passed a law requiring all Alcohol Beverage Permit holders to recycle their beverage containers. Since then, they have boosted the amount of glass bottles recovered for recycling from about 45,000 tons/year before the ABC law to more than 75,000 tons.
• Ceramics, porcelain, Pyrex, and dishware are the most destructive contaminants for glass recycling. Make sure they don’t get mixed in with your recycled glass bottles.
• On average, 60% of glass from single-stream collection gets recycled into new glass containers or fiberglass, 19% goes to secondary uses and 21% ends up in landfills, according to a 2012 Container Recycling Institute study. In contrast, mixed glass from dual-stream systems yields an average of 90% being recycled into containers and fiberglass.
• Glass bottles have been reduced in weight by more than 50% between 1970 and 2000.
• According to a 2009 survey, 8 out of 10 households recycle, and of those that do, 82% recycle glass bottles and jars. And, 69% recycle glass containers at the curb, while 23% use drop-off collection.
• The glass capture rates for single-stream recycling may only reach 30%; it’s almost 100% for drop-off recycling, according to research in the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland, CO and Larimer County, CO.
• In 10 U.S. states where there are deposit laws, glass beverage bottles are eligible for a cash refund when you recycle them.
• In 2010, according to the U.S. EPA, glass made up 4.6% of the municipal solid waste stream.
• 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.
• Recycling 1,000 tons of glass creates slightly over 8 jobs. (Source: 2011 Container Recycling Institute).