What Are the Benefits of Recycling Glass & Plastic?

Glass and plastic products are all around us, and the push to recycle grows every year. There are real benefits to recycling these items, such as energy savings and conserving landfill space.

Definition

• Recycling involves returning products to recapture their value as raw materials and turn them into new products. The logo (three chasing arrows) represents the three components of the process: collection, manufacture and re-distribution.

Landfill Space

• The primary benefit of recycling both glass and plastic is that it saves landfill space. With an ever-growing population, landfills are filling up, and we're running out of places to dispose of solid waste. Recycling alleviates strain on landfill space.

Glass Recycling Benefits

• Recycling glass saves both raw materials and energy. Manufacturing new glass containers from recycled ones takes less energy. Another benefit of glass recycling is that the process can continue indefinitely. There's no limit to the number of times glass can be recycled.

Plastic Recycling Benefits

• Plastics are not as easy to recycle as glass; however, there are still benefits. Many plastics can be recycled into new, more durable products. Some plastics (polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, and high-density polyethylene, or HDPE) can be re-made into new containers. Other plastics can be made into alternate products like siding, carpet and textiles, decking and other packaging materials.

Balancing Act

• While glass is more recyclable than plastic, plastic containers weigh less and therefore use less fuel for transportation. On the other hand, some plastic containers (like peanut butter jars) are difficult to clean. The amount of water used to clean them offsets their value as a recycled material. Determining the benefits of recycling is a balancing act.