Welcome to Glass Recycling Guide
Glass Recycling Article
. For a permanent link or to bookmark this article for further reading, click here.
The Recycling Process For Glass From Start To Finish
The recycling process for glass starts with us. It is up to us to collect the glass to be picked up at your curbside.
Most cities do have a recycling center that are contracted to pick up your household glass bottles and jars. It is up to us to know what kinds of glass that is accepted by the recycling center, because not all contractors are set up for other types of glass, such as laminated glass, or window pane glass.
The recycling process for glass is done in a certain order. The glass that we collect has to be separated into colors, because the colors are part of the glass and if mixed with clear or other colors the chemical composition of the glass will be changes as will the purity.
Before placing the used bottle or jar into the recycling bin it should be washed or rinsed out first. Not only does rinsing make it easier on the recycling process for glass, but it also makes your house smell better if you are collecting the glass inside.
It is true that some people will pay the deposit and not return the bottles for a refund. Unredeemed deposits are either kept by the bottling company as or they are turned over to a state-managed fund.
For instance, California, Michigan and Massachusetts will keep the deposits that were never redeemed, because the deposits are considered abandoned property.
The money is yours if you paid the deposit, so unless you want to give it to the state or the bottling company as abandoned property, you should bring back your bottles and collect your refund. Besides getting your money back you will be helping out the environment.
The recycling process for glass once the glass has reached the recycling center starts with sorting. A large magnet is passed over the recycled glass to remove any steel, wire and iron based metals.
The sorting goes on to remove any bricks, stones, and ceramics by going through a machine designed to remove any impurities from the recyclate. Nothing takes the place of the human eye, so people and machinery are part of the recycling process for glass.
Once the sorting is done the process starts with a good washing. The glass is washed to remove any impurities, because when glass cullet is melted to make new glass the impurities will melt into the glass, making it impure.
After washing the glass is then fed through a crusher that grinds the glass into smaller pieces.
The smaller pieces are further crushed so that the glass looks like pea sized pieces of gravel called aggregate. Aggregate is sold into many manufacturing companies, and it is used in the construction business to make concrete.
The recycling process for glass is a cycle that starts and ends with you.
Glass Recycling Specific links
Glass Recycling News
European Group Releases Glass Recycling Report - Recycling Today
 letsrecycle.com | European Group Releases Glass Recycling Report Recycling Today The Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+) has released a report for the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) that looks at strategies for increasing the collection of glass in Europe. Glass recycling and separate waste collections drieve circular economy Call for more separate glass collection across Europe |
Linn County: No Need to Sort Glass for Recycling - KCRG
 KCRG | Linn County: No Need to Sort Glass for Recycling KCRG By Emily Busse, Reporter By Jay Knoll CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Recycling glass in Cedar Rapids and the rest of Linn County just got a little easier, officials say. According to a news release Tuesday, residents no longer have to sort clear and colored ... Clear, colored glass can now go together Read more » |
Sacramento County supervisors still stuck on recycling rules - Sacramento Bee
Sacramento County supervisors still stuck on recycling rules Sacramento Bee Some residents are also frustrated because they don't think the proposal will help with the key problem from recycling centers – noise from crushing glass and other items. Cindy La Marr, the citizen representative on a task force addressing the ... |
Recycled glass gives concrete more muscle - Futurity: Research News
 PhysOrg.com | Recycled glass gives concrete more muscle Futurity: Research News "Using milled glass significantly reduces the amount of energy used, as well as CO2 emissions." (Credit: Michigan State University) MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Mixing ground waste glass into cement makes the resulting concrete stronger, more durable, ... Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement |
Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement - MSU News
 MSU News | Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement MSU News MSU researchers have found that concrete is more durable when crushed glass is added to the cement used to make the concrete. The MSU campus has several test sites where the concrete-glass mix was tested. Photo by GL Kohuth Click on an image to view a ... |