9. More recycled glass bottles are needed. Stat. Glass container manufacturers have set a goal to reach 50% recycled content in the manufacture of new glass bottles by 2013. They’re going to need a lot more.

8. Spare change. In 11 states with container deposit laws, you can get cash for recycling your empty glass bottles.

7. Conserve natural resources. Over a ton are saved for every ton of glass containers recycled.

6. Save energy. Costs for energy drop about 2-3% for every 10% recycled glass containers used in the manufacturing process. You see where this is going?

5. All this carbon footprint stuff, recycling glass bottles really does makes a difference. Using six tons of recycled container glass in the manufacturing process equals one ton of carbon dioxide reduced.

4. Karma. Glass is 100% and endlessly recyclable. A glass container can go from a recycling bin to a store shelf in as little as 30 days. It’s gonna come back to you.

3. Bars (we know you’re there) are a hotbed for glass recycling. Over 35% of beer and soft drink bottles were recycled in 2008. Is your corner bar recycling?

2. No dish washer required. Just rinse and recycle your glass bottles and jars. But keep out coffee cups, dishware, and Pyrex.

1. What? You’re not drinking out of an endlessly recyclable glass bottle? Start now. Glass is 100% pure taste—and no after taste.

Learn More about Glass Recycling

GPI estimates energy savings from using 50% recycled content in all glass packages manufactured in the U.S. could save enough energy to power over 45,000 households for a year and remove 181,550 tons of waste from landfills every month. In addition, realizing this goal will encourage closed-loop recycling, save raw materials, reduce CO2 emissions, and reduce overall costs.

Learn more about how the glass industry is working toward this ambitious goal:

Reaching the Goal

To help achieve 50% recycled content, the glass container industry is engaged in the following:

Support single-stream curbside recycling best practices.

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. Get collection best practices

Expand dual-stream curbside collection and drop-off.

Research in the cities of City of Fort Collins and Loveland, CO and Larimer County, CO found that the glass capture rates for single-stream recycling may only reach 30%; it’s almost 100% for drop-off recycling.

Expand on-premise collection programs.

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 through bars, restaurants, and hotels. Find out more about on-premise programs across the U.S.

Improve beneficiation technologies.

New technologies, such as those that optically sort glass, are increasingly being added at cullet processing facilities.

Encourage consumer glass recycling.

Since 2008, the Glass Packaging Institute has sponsored Recycle Glass Week, creating consumer awareness around glass recycling and boosting new glass recycling initiatives.

Build on current deposit programs.

States with bottle bills have an average glass container recycling rate of just over 63%, according to the Container Recycling Institute.

Accelerate support of legislative initiatives

that encourage on-premise recycling and improved best practices for community recycling.

Model Initiatives

In May 2009, Saint-Gobain Containers partnered with glass processor eCullet in Seattle, WA to boost glass recycling and recycled content in wine bottles. Using recycled glass bottles collected from the City of Seattle’s curbside program and the Vancouver, BC bottle deposit program, Saint-Gobain Containers has doubled the amount of recycled glass—from 17% to 35%—in the manufacture of new glass wine bottles, with the potential to increase this amount in the future. And eCullet, an independent facility, is located on space leased from SGCI near their manufacturing plant, so this makes for an exceptional carbon footprint. Get more details

Also on the City’s web site, check out the bar/restaurant recycling resources

Get the report, Recycling Economic Information Study Update

2008 grant recipients include four that specifically target glass container recycling. Owens Brockway Glass Container, Inc., will develop a specialized mini-cullet plant in Tracy, CA to produce higher quality feedstock for glass bottle manufacturing. eCullet, Inc., will develop, manufacture, and commission a compact pre-processing and sorter system for glass from a materials recovery facility to produce furnace-ready cullet. TOMRA Pacific, Inc., will purchase equipment and construct a new glass processing facility in Commerce, CA. And finally, Vetrazzo, LLC, which will manufacture countertops with recycled glass, is adding cleaning equipment to their facility.

Funds for the grants come from unclaimed California Refund Value (CRV) on aluminum, glass, and plastic beverage containers. The 2009 grant round opens around March 13, 2009. Get details

Mixed glass containers will be collected separately and eventually end up at Rocky Mountain Bottle to be made into new glass containers. “We expect to fill up a 20-yard roll-off every couple weeks with just glass,” says John Newman, Vice President of Recycling at National Recycling.

While start-up has been delayed due to weather and contracting issues, they expect to open the doors in early February. “Everything is done,” says Newman. “We’re just waiting for fencing and a couple other items.”

For glass, this has meant a push to get cleaner recycled glass containers and more of them to Rocky Mountain Bottle Company, the primary glass processor in the state. “It was the right things to do,” says Tony Abel, Recycling Technician at RMBC. “It has helped entice folks to recycle glass or get them thinking about recycling glass.”

Part of the rebate offsets transportation costs, which has been especially helpful to communities furthest away from this market. While there has been no formal mechanism for measuring results, Abel believes that the rebate program has improved both the quantity and quality of the glass they receive.

“This rebate program is designed to reward companies that are recycling,” says Marjorie Griek, Executive Director of Colorado Association for Recycling and Chair of the committee which was set up under the new law to make recommendations on its implementation. Griek was also instrumental in getting the legislation passed. “Our real goal is supporting local markets. We want to keep recycled materials in the state rather than shipping them to outside markets,” says Griek.

Broad Ripple Village, a commercial district in a north Indianapolis, Indiana neighborhood, began recycling glass bottles at ten bars and restaurants in September 2008, the first phase of a larger recycling initiative.

According to a new poll released by GPI and Opinion Research, a majority of Americans (71%) plan to recycle following holiday parties, gatherings, or meals this year, and one-in-four (27%) plan to make a New Year’s resolution this year to recycle more.

“We’re excited about the response to our first-ever Recycle Glass Day and people’s commitments to recycle more in 2009,” said Joseph Cattaneo, GPI President. “Recycling your glass bottles and jars saves energy and the environment as glass is 100% recyclable in a closed-loop system.”

More than 1,000 tons of redeemable glass containers have been shipped out of Maui to be made in to new glass bottles since the state imposed a new standard for handling bottles in its HI-5 redemption program.

Recycling companies are still handling glass beverage containers, and paying consumers the 5-cent redemption value for each container. In turn, the state is paying the businesses 4 cents for each glass container shipped to a Mainland processor. This has boosted local efforts to recycle glass. Read the article

North Carolina state legislation requiring all Alcohol Beverage Control permit holders to recycling beverage containers starting January 1, 2008 has brought in an additional 33,750 annualized tons of glass bottles, plastic, and cans for recycling. It’s also encouraged the start-up of about a dozen new businesses to collect these recyclables.

The City of Greensboro averages over 25 ton/week of recycled glass bottles. The City collects from about 224 bars and restaurants using 96-gallon wheeled carts for automated collection. In 2008, they collected over 1,300 tons of mixed glass.

Fayetteville, NC also reports an up tick in glass recovery after the ABC law. And it’s increased recycling overall. Watch the news video