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Places to Recycle Glass

Glass can be recycled and reused indefinitely. The types of glass that you can recycle are commonly categorized by color--clear, green/blue and amber/brown. You should not recycle Pyrex or heat-resistant glassware with other glass, as it melts differently. Glass-recycling facilities and requirements vary depending on where you reside.

  1. Curbside Recycling

    • In many areas such as the United States and United Kingdom programs at the town or city level provide glass recycling at your home. Often specially marked bins are provided that you can fill with glass containers. Leave these at the curb on a designated day, where they are picked up by a recycling company. Wash or rinse all glass to remove food debris before recycling.

    Bottle Banks

    • Bottle banks, a term coined in the United Kingdom, are popular in many European countries, where you can usually find them with other types of recycling bins at recycling stations strategically placed within neighborhoods to promote recycling. A separate container is provided for each color of glass, as manufacturers cannot recycle mixed colors effectively.

    Community Drop-off Centers

    • Many areas in the United States provide a central facility where recycling bins are provided for the people living in that town, city or county. In some cases they are run by local community civic and beneficent organizations, who benefit from the sale of the recyclables collected. They are sometimes located near the local waste collection plant to facilitate use.

    Grocery stores

    • Many grocery stores provide bins for recycling glass, with a separate bin for each color. As of 2009, some states such as Oregon, New York and California also have a program that provides a refund when a bottle is recycled at their facility.

    Recycling for other types of glass

    • Recycle noncontainer glass such as window glass, auto glass, Pyrex or heat-resistant glass, drinking glasses, light bulbs, or cathode ray tubes separately. These types of glass have been treated with contaminants that will cause problems in the recycling process. They require special processing. In some areas, such as Switzerland, you can return them to the store that sold them for recycling. See the Resources for a list of companies that provide special types of glass recycling.

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