Why is recycling glassware important?

As of December 2021, the city of Vancouver has resumed the collection of glassware to be recycled. Recycling glassware instead of disposing it is important for the environment in many different ways. It improves air quality and drastically decreases pollution. Listed below are some reasons why glass recycling is important.

Benefits of Recycling Glassware

There are many benefits to recycling glassware. Listed below are some reasons why glass recycling directly helps the environment.

1. Glass Recycling Conserves Natural Resources

Recycling saves more than a ton of the raw materials required to make glass, including 1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash, and 380 pounds of limestone.

2. Reduction of waste disposal costs

Glass makes up approximately 8% of household waste by weight. Recycling glass vastly decreases the amount of waste that would need to be collected and disposed of, which in turn reduces the cost of trash collection.

3. Decreases pollution

When glass is recycled and reused, air and water pollution is greatly reduced. It is environmentally beneficial to recycle and reuse glass in a sustainable manner.

4. Conserves energy

Cullet melts at a lower temperature than what is required when making glass for the first time. We can conserve energy originally needed to melt the glass if we choose to recycle instead.

5. Reduced Landfill

By recycling, landfill space is saved. This is important since landfill space is an increasingly scarce resource.

How is glass recycled?

Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without any loss in quality or purity. The process of recycling glass involves collecting used glass bottles and other glassware from numerous restaurants and bars and upcycling them. Glass is taken from the trash and taken to a glass treatment plant in order to create a new life for these glasses.