How Does Glass Recycling Effect the Environment?

Many states and towns have glass recycling programs, intended to help the environment and save money. Glass is a great candidate for recycling, as it is fully recyclable, and glass containers are used frequently in everyday life. Glass containers usually come in one of four colors--clear, green, blue, or brown--each of which can be recycled. Other glass products such as mirrors and light bulbs are poor candidates for recycling because they are treated with chemicals.

Energy Savings

• Making new glass containers requires a lot of energy, much of which can be saved through recycling. Creating new glass entails heating substances like sand to 2,600 degree Fahrenheit, which not only consumes a vast amount of energy but also contributes to pollution from factories making the glass. In contrast, converting crushed recyclable glass into cullet and making new glass products consumes up to 40 percent less energy because of the lower necessary temperatures.

Degradation

• Glass bottles are bad for the environment when simply tossed away, whether into the trash or by littering. A single glass container can take almost a million years to fully break down. Recycling takes these bottles away from the Earth and puts them back to use.

Conservation

• Making glass requires a lot of natural resources, such as sand, soda ash, and limestone. Although sand exists in a virtually unlimited supply, the others do not, and recycling prevents these resources from being used up too quickly.

Landfills

• Because of the hazards they present to the environment, anything that can be done to decrease landfill overfilling is a good thing. Overfilled landfills can contaminate the ground and the groundwater when things get out of hand. By recycling glass containers, you can contribute to keeping trash piles from growing out of control.

Reusable

• There is a reason glass is one of the most often recycled products. Many products can only be recycled once before heading to their inevitable fate in a landfill. Not glass. Glass products can be recycled again and again without any loss of quality. The net effect means choosing to recycle just a single bottle can continue to help the environment for many years.