Billions of Bottles Out There

Glass is one of the most durable materials invented, but much of it is simply thrown away as glass bottles are tossed after their contents are gone.  Discarded bottles are not only unsightly, but they also pose a threat if left out in the environment.  Glass will easily shatter in such a situation, and the shards will have an extremely sharp edge.  Glass fragments can cut as well as finely honed steel.  Glass chips can puncture tires leading to accidents.  Glass can pierce the skin as well, and not just of people.  Wildlife is also often injured by pieces of glass carelessly tossed away.  Pets also fall prey to this hazard.

The materials that go into the making of glass are cheap and plentiful.  The silicates and flux agents such as boron or phosphorous are available in abundance in many places, but the process of transforming them into glass is energy intensive.  Recycling of glass requires far less energy making such efforts worthwhile in a world where energy is at a premium.

Most recycled glass is first placed into containers marked specifically for this sort of use.  The bins may be marked for colored and clear glass, or the bins may collect all sorts of glass.  In this case, sorters will separate the glass into piles containing different colors.  The bottles and other glass items are then shipped to a reprocessing plant.  Here the glass gets crushed and then melted.  The molten material is then reshaped into new bottles or other glass items.  The energy expended in this effort will be a fraction of that needed to make an entirely new batch of glass.

Europe a Leader in Glass Recycling

Most European nations are now fully committed to a variety of recycling efforts, and the reuse of glass is indicative of that commitment. Germany now recycles over 2 million tons of glass each year.  The thrust of their program involves the reuse of soda and water bottles.  The United Kingdomhas collection bins for glass in virtually every community.

Many countries now require a deposit on bottles in an effort to induce people to recycle.  Homeless people often earn money by searching through trash bins for bottles to take to a recycling center.  Businesses find there is profit to be had in recycling glass.  This can be particularly true for restaurants and bars that often run through a great number of bottles serving their patrons with refreshments.

Glass does not necessarily have to go through the reprocessing plant to get recycled.  Many artists now use glass chips in their work.  Jewelry in particular has long made use of glass which can have the sparkle and beauty of gem stones.  Paintings also can be composed of glass.  Pieces can be reduced to small chips that crate a translucent mosaic.  Bottles may also be reused as utilitarian objects such as vases.

Much additional information in the field of recycling is available at Securr Trash Cans.  They are an industry leader in the field.