How to Recycle Glass Jars

The "go green" movement has rapidly spread throughout communities around the world. However, many families don't recycle simply because they don't know the proper way to dispose of certain items. Glass jars are among the most common items overlooked because there's confusion surrounding what kind of jars can and cannot be recycled. Figuring out what types of glass are recyclable is easy.

Things You'll Need

• Glass jars
• Recycle bins

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Instructions

• 1

  Determine what your community's recycling policies are. Contact your local county's waste-services department and ask what the recycling schedule is for your area. Ask if there's a special container that the county or city issues for the recycling of glass jars. If there is, request that county workers deliver a container to your home during their next scheduled pickup.

• 2

  Assess the glass that you'd like to recycle. Check to make sure you're recycling only glass bottles or jars, such as soda or beer bottles, baby food jars, wine bottles and liquor bottles. Keep all glass items that aren't jars or containers out of your recycling bin. Don't recycle items such as mirrors, Pyrex containers, light bulbs or other kinds of non-container glass items.

• 3

  Clean and prepare your glass jars for recycling before placing them into your recycling bin. Rinse them out so they're contaminant-free when they're processed. Remove all metal lids, neck rings and/or caps from the jars; they're not recyclable. Place your clean glass jars into your recycling bin, and place it outside on the day of collection.