Recycling Glass
Follow these guidelines for determining what to recycle and what to put in your regular trash.
Preparation
Rinse jars and bottles. Paper labels are okay. Remove lids and caps and recycle with other materials. Place glass bottles and jars loose in recycling bin.
What to recycle
Recycle glass bottles, glass jars, wine bottles, all colors are okay to include in your recycling.
What not to recycle
Auto glass, ceramic, fluorescent lights or light bulbs, mirrors, window glass, pyrex dishes or porcelain.
Fast Facts
- Glass containers are an environmentally superior packaging—nontoxic, high value, and completely recyclable.
Glass can be recycled again and again with no loss in quality or purity. Glass containers go from recycling bin to store shelf in as little as 30 days—again and again. - In 2005, glass made up nearly six percent of the municipal solid waste stream by weight.
- 61% of U.S. produced glass containers is clear, 31% is amber, 7% is green, and 1% is blue.
- The U.S. annually produces about 12.5 million tons of glass of which 3.7 million tons is recycled.
- Americans annually dispose of over 28 million glass bottles and jars.
- Most bottles and jars contain about 30% recycled glass.
- About 37% of all glass bottles and jars are now recycled.
- Glass recycling employs over 30,000 workers in 76 plants in 25 states.
- Every ton of glass produced from virgin materials produces 27.8 lbs. of air pollution; recycling cuts that amount by over 5 lbs.
- Glass recycling saves over 25% of the energy necessary to make glass with virgin materials.
