Glass recycling

March 26, 2022

Written by: Caroline Kim

Recycling! I’m sure you’ve heard of it, and I’m guessing you participate in the practice; if not, here’s why you should. Today, we’ll be discussing the importance of recycling glass. “Think about it: a glass jar will outlive generations of people simply by laying in a landfill. It can also kill wildlife, contribute to environmental stressors through continuous recreation, and plays a significant role in both air and water pollution when not recycled” (Beales). For example, glass is a leading contaminant, and might be polluting the stream in your neighborhood. She also states, “Glass is made of four components: sand, soda ash, limestone and color additives. Currently, there is no risk of shortage in these raw materials, but sourcing them often causes land degradation” (Beales). In other words, by not recycling, reusable resource material is lost, causing a need to extract more resources, which not only creates more work, but also destroys the land.

“Glass is infinitely recyclable without loss in quality. Recycling glass has many proven environmental benefits–it reduces emissions, saves energy, and reduces consumption of raw materials” (The Glass Recycling Problem: What’s behind it, and what to do). If carefully managed, glass can be used in an effective and environmentally friendly way. But because glass is harder to sort at facilities, heavy/costly to transport, and can damage machines, it can be a little more complicated. Here in parts of Virginia, glass that was recycled normally (along with cartons/paper/plastic etc.) was no longer accepted. Instead, there are reserved purple glass recycling bins throughout the county where glass can be recycled. The only issues are that people are either unaware of this new system, or many don’t find it worth their time to drive to a purple bin to get rid of their glass. As a solution, some high school students in my area have helped develop “The Glass Recycling Network”, to help encourage the continued and proper recycling of glass. Simply ask your neighbors to recycle glass separately, offer to collect the glass from them once a week, and go up to your closest purple bin to recycle. Small yet consistent practices such as this can significantly impact the environment.

Sources:

Beales, Jacalyn. “Why You Should Always Recycle Glass (Even When It's Inconvenient).” Selva Beat, Selva Beat, 19 Sept. 2017, https://www.selvabeat.com/home/2015/9/10/why-you-should-always-recycle-glass#:~:text=Think%20about%20it%3A%20a%20glass,water%20pollution%20when%20not%20recycled. “The Glass Recycling Problem: What's behind It, and What to Do.” Great Forest, 16 Nov. 2021, https://greatforest.com/sustainability101/the-glass-recycling-problem/#:~:text=Glass%20is%20infinitely%20recyclable%20without,material%20maintains%20much%20public%20support.