CAP Glass
The Life of a Bottle
A bottle is created for its initial purpose; let’s say a bottle of soda. It’s enjoyed by the consumer and then one of two things happen. It is tossed in the trash and ends up in a landfill or it’s sent to a recycling center.
If the latter occurs, the bottle is broken down into small pieces which are called cullet. The cullet is mixed with sand, soda ash and limestone and heated, which turns the substance into a liquid. That liquid is then poured into molds and new products are created.
- Glass bottles and jars are 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without any loss in purity or quality.
- Recycled glass can be substituted for up to 95% of raw materials.
- Manufacturers benefit from recycling in several ways—it reduces emissions and consumption of raw materials, extends the life of plant equipment, such as furnaces, and saves energy.
- Recycled glass is always part of the recipe for glass, and the more that is used, the greater the decrease in energy used in the furnace. This makes using recycled glass profitable in the long run, lowering costs for glass container manufacturers—and benefiting the environment.
- Over a ton of natural resources are saved for every ton of glass recycled.
- Energy costs drop about 2-3% for every 10% cullet used in the manufacturing process.
- One ton of carbon dioxide is reduced for every six tons of recycled container glass used in the manufacturing process.
Above bullets cited from: http://www.gpi.org/recycling/glass-recycling-facts
An estimated 80% of all glass containers recovered for recycling are remelted in furnaces, and used in the manufacture of new glass containers. (Source, Strategic Materials, Inc.)
Recycling 1,000 tons of glass creates slightly over 8 jobs. (Source: 2011 Container Recycling Institute)
So the life of a bottle can be quite a long one if the right steps are taken, and the impact on our planet is extraordinary.
