Let’s get clear on glass recycling!
Published: 25 September 2023
Join the Isle of Wight Council's waste service in getting clear on glass recycling.
Island residents are being encouraged to recycle glass the right way at the kerbside.
Glass is a valuable resource that can be recycled again and again. Recycling glass conserves energy preserves our environment and reduces the need for raw materials.
By rinsing out glass items before placing them in the recycling bin, people can help prevent contaminating other recyclable items. This means the glass can be recycled effectively.
Natasha Dix, the council’s strategic manager for the environment and waste, said: “Domestic waste glass is easy to recycle. The UK currently recycles around 71 per cent of container glass, like bottles and jars. The glass sector is working towards a 90 per cent collection rate by 2023.
"Join us in getting clear on glass recycling and let’s all play our part in creating a sustainable future.”
Pyrex and glass baking trays do not go in your green wheeled bins/reusable sack.
These types of glass are designed to withstand higher temperatures than glass bottles and jars. Please take them to Afton Marsh or Lynnbottom Recycling Centre to be properly processed.
One significant aspect of glass recycling is the prevention of smashed glass contamination.
Broken glass poses a risk to recycling facility workers and can contaminate other recyclables. To prevent this, place smashed glass in paper or wrap it securely before disposing of it in your household waste black bin or reusable sack.
Glass: the facts
- Glass is 100 per cent recyclable and can be endlessly recycled with no loss of quality.
- New glass is made from four main ingredients: sand, soda ash, limestone and other additives for colour or special treatments. All these raw materials are quarried, using up natural resources and utilising energy for extraction and processing.
- By simply recycling our glass we can reduce non-renewable fossil fuel usage. For every tonne of glass that is recycled, over a tonne of natural resources is saved.
- Each tonne of recycled glass added to the furnace saves 1.2 tonnes of raw materials. Each time one tonne of glass is recycled, about 580kg CO2 is saved throughout the supply chain, air pollution is reduced by 20 per cent and water pollution cut by 50 per cent!
- Not all glass can be recycled together, for example, containers made from glass need to be recycled separately to window or ovenware glass.
- Recycled glass can be used to make a wide range of everyday products and some that are completely unexpected, including new bottles and jars/glass wool insulation for homes, which also helps with energy efficiency/water filtration media.
- Recycling glass is an incredibly quick process. A glass container can go from your recycling bin to a shelf in a supermarket in as little as 30 days.
How is glass recycled?
Glass is:
- mechanically colour sorted, if needed;
- crushed and contaminants removed;
- mixed with the raw materials to colour and/or enhance properties as necessary;
- melted in a furnace/ moulded or blown into new bottles or jars.