Glass is a natural product that is made from silica sand, soda ash, limestone and other materials. It is used most commonly in packaging (i.e. jars of food, drink bottles), in manufacturing tableware like drinking glasses, plates, and bowls, and in household building materials, like in windows (EPA, 2021).

In 2018, the total municipal solid waste generated by the United states was 292.4 million tons. Glass waste made up approximately 4.19% of that total, with 12,250,000 tons being wasted. This is almost double the amount generated in 1960, with that number totaling 6720000 tons of glass waste. Out of this waste, in 2018 only 3060000 tons were recycled. The US’s glass-recycling rate is only 33%, which is extremely poor in comparison to countries like Switzerland, Germany and other European countries who boast a 90% glass recycling rate (EPA, 2021).

Glass is a 100% recyclable material, with many energy and environmental benefits in recycling it. Recycling glass significantly saves energy. Recycled glass melts at lower temperature than its raw materials, and making glass from scratch uses 40% more energy than what is needed to recycle it. In recycling one glass bottle, enough energy can be produced that would power a normal lightbulb for 4 hours! Recycling glass also significantly reduces industrial pollution. Recycled glass reduces the emissions of air pollution by 20%, and water pollution by 40%.  In order to encourage glass recycling, some countries have even instituted a financial incentive when residents decided to recycle their glass instead of contributing to the waste accumulation (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Glass Recycling,” n.d.).

The glass recycling rate in the US is significantly lower than that of other countries. This shortfall is hypothesized to be due to various factors including the quality and availability of the recyclable glass available (called cutlet), and the economic factors behind making glass. Governmental policies and a lack of consumer education also perpetuate the low rates of glass-recycling (Jacoby, 2019). In order to increase the abysmally low glass recycling rates, action has been taken at the state and local level. Ten US states have passed “bottle bills” that require customers to pay deposits on bottled drinks. The hope in this is that customers will be more likely to recycle their old and used bottles in order to get their monetary deposit back. Other strategies to increasing glass recycling rates could be implementing more curbside recycling programs and drop-off centers in neighborhoods. This would eliminate barriers to recycling accessibility and having a presence and culture of recycling in neighborhoods would increase community awareness and education.

References:

National overview: Facts and figures on materials, wastes and recycling. (2021, January 28). Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials

Jacoby, M. (2019, February 11). Why glass recycling in the US is broken. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://cen.acs.org/materials/inorganic-chemistry/glass-recycling-US-broken/97/i6

Recycling glass – how it helps environment. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/project_ideas/recycling_glass/

Compactor Management CompanyCompactor Management Company (former Northern California Compactors. (2020, July 31). Advantages and disadvantages of glass recycling. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.norcalcompactors.net/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-glass-recycling/