Glass Recycling
Most people only recycle a small portion of the glass they use but recycling glass can help the environment because recycling glass causes less air and water pollution and uses less energy than producing new glass.
Although glass is fragile and can break easily, it can be recycled and used again to make all sorts of things.
When glass arrives at a recycling plant, people and machines sort it by colour. Similar colours of glass must be recycled together, so that recycled products are as pure as possible to maximize their strength and prevent breakage.
Once glass is sorted by colour, it’s washed thoroughly to remove any dirt or other impurities.
The recycling process begins with the crushing of the glass into a raw material called cullet.
Glass manufacturers use cullet, because it’s cheaper than the raw materials they’d otherwise need to produce new glass. It also melts at a lower temperature, so they save energy during the production process.
Glass manufacturers mix cullet with other materials like limestone, sand, and soda ash, and heat it to over 2600ยบ F to make liquid glass, which can then be poured into a mould to cool and form a finished glass product.
Most recycled glass is used to make new glass containers, such as jars and bottles. However, recycled glass can also find its way into all sorts of other products, including fibreglass insulation, ceramic tiles and a variety of construction products.
This video shows the glass recycling process making clean glass cullet from glass waste.
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