Glass Tips

• Each year, Americans throw away enough glass jars and bottles to fill up a giant skyscraper.  All of that glass is recyclable.
• The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle could run a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours.  It all causes 20% less air pollution and 5% less than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
• Windows, pyrex glass, mirrors and crystal cannot be recycled.  This glass does not melt at the same temperature as glass bottles and can ruin a batch of glass if mixed with bottle glass.  There are, however, new opportunities for glass (recycling) other than that from bottles.
• Recyclable glass is separated by color into groups of clear glass, colored glass, and amber colored glass.
• Of U.S. produced glass containers – 61% is clear, 31% is amber, 7% is green, and 1% is blue.
• Every ounce of glass is recyclable.  It can be made into new glass products, concrete, home décor, and many other things
• Each year the U.S. produces over 12 million tons of glass.  Only about 4 million tons of that is recycled.
• Every ton of glass produced using raw materials creates nearly 30 pounds of air pollution.  Using recycled glass cuts that amount by nearly 5 pounds.
• Glass recyclers employ over 30,000 workers in 76 plants in 25 states.
• For every ton of glass recycled, we save natural resources: 1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone and 151 pounds of feldspar.
• Overall, glass recycling saves over 25% of the energy necessary to make glass with raw materials.
• Using recycled glass to make new glass cuts related air pollution up to 20%.