Glass recycling
Many of the items we use every day come in glass containers such as glass bottles and jars. In Sandwell, it’s really easy to recycle them from your home by placing them in your blue-lid recycling bin - just make sure they are empty, clean and dry.
How is it recycled?
Once glass has been separated from other recycling at the Materials Recycling Facility in Stratford-Upon-Avon, it is sent to different glass recycling factories to be made into new items.
- The different colour glass is separated by a machine.
- It is crushed and contaminants such as paper labels, are removed.
- The crushed glass is mixed with raw materials to colour and/or enhance properties as necessary.
- It is melted in a furnace.
- Melted glass is moulded or blown into new bottles or jars.
New products
Recycled glass can be used to make a wide range of everyday products and some that you might not expect, including:
- new bottles and jars,
- glass wool insulation for homes, which also helps with energy efficiency,
- aggregate used in road surfacing.
Environmental benefits
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be endlessly recycled with no loss of quality. Therefore by recycling your glass you will be:
- Reducing the need to quarry for the raw materials needed to make new glass.
- Conserving non-renewable fossil fuels as recycled glass uses less energy.
- Reducing the emission of harmful gasses into the atmosphere as less CO2 is products when using recycled glass.
- Reducing waste sent to landfill.
Different types of glass
There are a number of different types of glass that do not melt at the same temperature as bottles and jars. If they enter the glass recycling process, it can result in defects that mean new containers will have to be rejected.
You can see which types of glass can be recycled in your blue-lid bin (the ones with the ticks) and the ones that can't (the ones with the crosses) below.
Yes to: Glass bottles and glass jars.
No to: Window glass, Pyrex glass, mirrors, vases, drinking glasses, lightbulbs and spectacles.