Recycling in Ohio

GLASS RECYCLING

Americans throw away a lot of glass. It's a shame when you stop and think about glass containers going into Ohio's landfills because they will never degrade. Glass is 100 percent recyclable! Glass can be continually recycled without losing its quality—one pound of used glass can be recycled into one pound of new glass.

Glass recycling efforts in Ohio primarily focus on bottles and jars and other types of container glass, because container glass makes up 80 percent of the glass that is thrown away. Like aluminum and steel, recycling glass saves a great deal of energy and conserves Ohio's resources. In addition to recycling, glass containers can be reused many times in the home or office.

In Ohio, recycled containers are collected through public and private recycling centers, and through curbside collection and drop-off programs. It is estimated that 97 percent of the 7,500 U.S. communities with curbside recycling programs collect at least one color of container glass.

Once the recycled glass is separated by color, a glass processor crushes, screens and processes the recycled glass containers. The crushed glass, called cullet, is melted down and added to sand, soda ash and limestone. Then the mix is heated to about 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit to form molten (liquid) glass which is then poured into molds resembling various glass containers. The glass container industry used 79 percent of the cullet in 1997 as a raw material in glass containers.

Keep these facts in mind the next time you throw away a glass container:

• About 41 billion glass containers are produced in the U.S. each year. Of the glass containers produced each year, 55 percent are clear, 38 percent are amber and 7 percent are green or blue.
• Glass makes up 6.6 percent by weight and 1.5 percent by volume of the nation's solid waste stream.
• More than 37 percent of all glass beverage containers in 1998 were recycled, according to the U.S. EPA
• The average American generates 82 pounds of glass per year; the average glass bottle weighs 8 ounces.
• For every ton of crushed glass (cullet) used in the manufacturing process, 1.2 tons of raw materials are saved.
• Recycling one ton of glass saves about nine gallons of fuel oil.
• Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.
• Glass produced from recycled materials reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and water pollution by 50 percent. Manufacturing glass from recycled materials also saves 68 percent energy and half the water normally required in the manufacturing process.