Glass is an incredibly versatile material with multiple uses, including making windows, packaging containers, bottles, and drinking glasses. You will likely find a recycling bin designated for glass in many public areas. Some supermarkets also collect used glass containers from their customers. You may be wondering what all the fuss about recycling glass is about. Read on to find out some benefits of glass recycling.
1. Natural Resource Preservation
The raw materials used in glassmaking include sand, limestone, dolomite, and soda ash. Like all natural resources, these materials are limited, and using them in large amounts reduces the available reserves. Recycling glass prevents the depletion of the raw materials used to produce glass, ensuring there will be adequate reserves of these materials to serve future generations.
2. Energy Savings
When making glass, glassmakers heat the raw materials at very high temperatures of about
1500 degrees Celsius to melt them, making it possible to mold glass into any shape. This process consumes a lot of energy.
Recyclers crush glass to make a material called cullet, which has a lower melting point than the raw materials used to make glass. Therefore, using recycled glass to make new glass products consumes less energy than making glass from raw materials.
3. Reduced Pollution
Each year, glass production releases at least
86 million tons of carbon dioxide globally. The process of melting the raw materials used to make glass accounts for 75% to 85% of the carbon dioxide emissions from glass production. Using recycled glass in glass production lowers heat requirements, thus effectively lowering carbon dioxide emissions.
Glass recycling also prevents land pollution. When thrown into a landfill, glass takes several years to decompose. So if everyone were to throw their used glass bottles and containers into landfills, the world would have a serious pollution problem.
4. Making Money
Recycling glass pays. Some beverage stores and recycling centers offer cash in exchange for used glass bottles. Recycling companies also pay good money for old glass products. So if you have many glass products in your home, you can make fast cash by selling them to a recycling company near you.
5. Boosting the Economy
Recycling glass boosts industries that make fiberglass and glass containers by providing them with raw materials at a lower cost. Additionally, by recycling glass, you provide employment for the many people that work in glass recycling companies and industries that use glass as a raw material.
Industries that use glass containers, such as beverage and food industries, also use bottles and containers made from recycled glass. The pharmaceutical industry also uses glass for storing medicines. Smaller glass materials are also used in construction to make tiles and landscaping material and are an ingredient in paving material.
6. Promoting Sustainability
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled several times without losing its quality. Therefore, there is no risk that the world will ever run out of glass if people keep recycling. Additionally, glass is a key ingredient in the production of renewable energy through solar panels and photovoltaic cells made from glass fibers. So by recycling glass, you promote industries that produce renewable energy.
7. Ease of Recycling
Glass is the easiest material to recycle due to its high demand. Several recycling programs in the US accept glass. In fact, there is likely a recycling center near you that collects glass products. So you don't have to go far to find a place to dispose of your glass products sustainably.
If you have been longing to create a more positive impact on the environment, start by dropping off any old glass products in your home at a recycling center. Bruce Metal & Salvage is your trusted recycling company in Orange, Riverside, and LA counties.
Contact us today for more information on how we can help you redeem your old glass.
