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Thursday, 02 September 2021 23:21

A promising future for glass lifecycle

The truth about glass recycling is that it really depends on where you live and how the glass recycling policies are, therefore how the processes to recycle work from start to finish determine the glass life-cycle. In some states or countries, sadly millions of glass bottles end up dumped in a landfill, and this can even happen if the glass has been collected through a recycling bin.

Glass is 100% recyclable many times and it is capable of being reused without losing its quality and purity. That is why it is a very popular material for consumers and to be used for different purposes. Yet it is a material which we could get much more benefits from as it is not being recycled nearly as much as it could be.


glass-recycling-benefits


glass-recycling-benefits

Courtesy of GPI; BCG.


Nowadays in the US, glass-recycling rate is around 33% and it has been like that for many years now. In Europe and some US states with the bottle deposit law, glass-recycling average rates are closer to 70% proof that this is possible worldwide and the impact would have enormous environmental benefits. If the glass-recycling rate be to 50%, it would redirect millions of glass from landfills while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.4 million metric tons. This could be as good as taking 300,000 cars off the streets.


glass-recycling-benefits

Courtesy of GPI; BCG.


By the end of the decade there has been a goal set by the Glass Packaging Institute to achieve the 50% recycling rate that is intended to be domestic efficient as well as for companies. However it cannot be achieve without an structured plan. The public and private sectors must cooperate making specific investments in infrastructure to improve collection and recycling processes.


glass-recycling-benefits

Courtesy of United States Environmental Protection Agency; Glass Packaging Industry (GPI); BCG.


For this plan to be executed the Glass Packaging Institute has partnered with Boston Consulting Group to develop a structured plan with three main pillars:

Leave no bottle behind

Creating bottle-bill laws, clean collection options and commercial recycling programs.

Transform the recycling system

Creating a much more efficient process that goes from collection to separating to processing.

Collective actions

Having the private sector to create user-friendly deposit-return programs.


glass-recycling-benefits

Courtesy of United States Environmental Protection Agency; Glass Packaging Industry (GPI); BCG.


These three pillars are crucial for the program to work and they are self-reinforcing so none could be successful without the others, so every of these approaches are necessary.

So, by the 2030 the goal is set and this could benefit not only the US but encourage many other countries to implement it and reduce the glass-pollution impact in the world.

Published in Glass & Ceramics

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