How to Recycle Glass Efficiently in the UK?

Ever found yourself wondering what to do with old glass jars and bottles, or how to dispose of broken glass at home? Consider glass recycling: an effective, sustainable, and cost-effective way to dispose of broken or old glass.

Why Consider Glass Recycling?

Are glass bottles recyclable or can glass be recycled? The answer is YES, glass is 100% recyclable. Glass recycling is one of the most simple and easiest methods of reducing our carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions and landfill use. It is capable of being recycled endlessly with no loss of quality making it a valuable resource in efforts to reduce waste and conserve natural resources.

If a glass bottle is sent to a landfill, it can take up to a million years to decompose, but a recycled glass bottle can leave your kitchen bin and return to a store shelf as a new container in just 30 days. According to Recycle Now, the UK currently recycles around 71% of container glass (such as bottlers, jars, drinkware and bowls). However, by 2030 the glass sector aims to achieve a 90% collection rate for glass.

Having a huge glass recycling rate - with around 2.3 million tonnes of glass collected annually – UK witnessed an impressive effort over 85% of households that have access to kerbside recycling schemes and more than 50,000 bottle banks across the country.

How Can We Recycle Glass?

From collection to manufacturing, the glass recycling process involves several stages. This blog will explore every stage of the procedure:

• Understand Local Recycling Guidelines: Before recycling your unwanted glass, make sure to check the guidelines of your local recycling centre. Find out what types of glass they accept and if they sort by colour.

• Collecting unused/broken glass: In the UK, the process of glass recycling begins with collecting. This process can be mainly accomplished through household recycling, bottle banks (where containers are placed in public areas like supermarket car parks, community centres, and other easily accessible locations to dispose of unwanted glasses) and commercial collection.

To encourage regular and easy recycling among the residents, local councils provide recycling bins or boxes specifically designed for homes to separate glass bottles and jars from other waste.

• Transportation: Once collected, the next step is transporting the unused glasses to recycling facilities. This is mainly done by local councils or private waste management companies.

• Sorting: After reaching the recycling facility, the collected glass undergoes a thorough sorting process as it ensures the quality of the recycled glass. Two major sorting processes it undergoes are colour sorting and contaminant removal.

To ensure the quality of the recycled glass, colour sorting helps. The glass is sorted by colour because different colours (clear, green, and brown) are processed separately, as mixing colours can compromise the quality of the recycled glass, limiting its usability.

Along with colour sorting, another major important step is contaminant removal, that is removing non-glass materials (such as metal caps, plastic, and paper labels) from collected glass. If contaminant is not removed, then it can hinder the recycling process by damaging the recycling equipment and reducing the quality of the recycled glass, making it less suitable for certain applications.

• Crushing: After sorting, the glass is crushed into small pieces known as cullets. It is easier to handle and process than whole glass items. The crushed glass is then cleaned to remove any remaining impurities, to ensure that the cullet is as pure as possible.

• Melting: The cleaned cullet is then melted in a furnace at very high temperatures, typically around 1,500°C. Once the melting transforms the glass into a molten state, it is ready to be shaped into new products. Using cullet in the melting process requires less energy than using raw materials, as cullet melts at a lower temperature.

• Manufacturing: The molten glass is shaped into new products through various manufacturing techniques. Commonly, it is moulded or blown into bottles and jars, but it can also be used to produce other glass items. 

• Quality testing: The new glass products are then inspected for quality according to the standards of the glass packaging institute and prepared for distribution. If any defects are found, they are sent back for adjustments.

• Reuse: The final step in the glass recycling loop is the reuse of the newly manufactured glass products. These products re-enter the market, where they are used by consumers and businesses, completing the recycling cycle.

Glass recycling in the UK offers numerous environmental and economic benefits. It saves significant amounts of energy compared to producing new glass from raw materials. The energy savings can be up to 30%, as cullet melts at a lower temperature than the raw materials. This process also reduces the need for raw materials such as sand, soda ash, and limestone, which in turn helps preserve natural landscapes and reduces the environmental impact of mining and quarrying activities. Apart from the environment benefit, glass recycling also bolsters the economy through energy savings and job creation. Check out your nearest recycling centre in the UK for glass recycling options. Effective glass recycling relies on the participation of residents and businesses.