Glass is a durable, purposeful material, but in order for it to be man made, raw materials, electricity and extreme heat are required for creation at a glass factory. With the exception of certain types of glass, many forms can be recycled. You might already participate in this process, but do you even know what is involved behind the scenes? Let’s check out the procedure for glass recycling from start to finish.
Of course, the first step in glass recycling starts with you, the consumer. After you place your recyclable glass contents into your recycling bin, it travels to your local recycling center, where it will be repurposed into something new.
At the recycling center, the glass is dropped off and sent for separation and cleaning. Although some households are meticulous about cleaning and sorting their glass recyclables, others are not as careful. It’s standard procedure for the centers to double-check the consumers’ work to prevent contamination and impurities; however, it’s recommended that you clean any recyclables, including glass, beforehand.
In addition to ensuring a quality product from the reused material, washing the glass at home helps the recycling center be more efficient. Between the large magnet that catches any metal and the final separation by employees, the glass is separated as it should be. Sometimes screens and even vacuum systems are used to efficiently remove materials other than glass.
Next, the bottles and jars are crushed into small pieces called cullet. The resulting cullet is sold to glass-manufacturing companies so it can be turned into new glass and even landscaping and road products such as concrete, curbs, manholes, catch basins and more. Once the new glass items are created and sold to consumers, people might be able to reuse the product several times and eventually recycle it all over again.
Glass recycling is such a simple process after the cleaning and separation is complete. The more systematic you are at sorting your glass recyclables, the more efficient and productive your local recycling center will be!
Glass is a durable, purposeful material, but in order for it to be man made, raw materials, electricity and extreme heat are required for creation at a glass factory. With the exception of certain types of glass, many forms can be recycled. You might already participate in this process, but do you even know what is involved behind the scenes? Let’s check out the procedure for glass recycling from start to finish.
Of course, the first step in glass recycling starts with you, the consumer. After you place your recyclable glass contents into your recycling bin, it travels to your local recycling center, where it will be repurposed into something new.
At the recycling center, the glass is dropped off and sent for separation and cleaning. Although some households are meticulous about cleaning and sorting their glass recyclables, others are not as careful. It’s standard procedure for the centers to double-check the consumers’ work to prevent contamination and impurities; however, it’s recommended that you clean any recyclables, including glass, beforehand.
In addition to ensuring a quality product from the reused material, washing the glass at home helps the recycling center be more efficient. Between the large magnet that catches any metal and the final separation by employees, the glass is separated as it should be. Sometimes screens and even vacuum systems are used to efficiently remove materials other than glass.
Next, the bottles and jars are crushed into small pieces called cullet. The resulting cullet is sold to glass-manufacturing companies so it can be turned into new glass and even landscaping and road products such as concrete, curbs, manholes, catch basins and more. Once the new glass items are created and sold to consumers, people might be able to reuse the product several times and eventually recycle it all over again.
Glass recycling is such a simple process after the cleaning and separation is complete. The more systematic you are at sorting your glass recyclables, the more efficient and productive your local recycling center will be! 