What kind of glass is recyclable

Related: Stiff-yet-supple plastic can be reshaped and recycled. But most municipalities in the US stick with single stream because the collection costs are lower than those with multistream systems. To switch to multistream systems, these municipalities would need to introduce taxes or fees to meet the higher collection and handling costs.

And most municipalities are reluctant to do so. But even if the US shifted more to multistream collection, there are other economic factors standing in the way of increasing glass-recycling rates to European levels. One significant difference between the US and European nations is size. Distances in the US between a materials recovery facility and a cullet supplier, or a cullet supplier and a buyer tend to be greater.

Transporting glass waste and cullet is costly because of their weight, and those costs can be a deal breaker for some glassmakers and can prevent would-be cullet suppliers from opening processing facilities.

For example, in the US, some materials recovery facilities do not recover any glass from their single streams because there are no nearby buyers to make it worthwhile, according to Rue. Another factor affecting the costs of recovering cullet from glass waste is that cullet specifications vary from one manufacturer to another depending on the intended application.

These costs and limited supplies of quality cullet continue to stand in the way of US manufacturers increasing their use of recycled material. Most of the efforts to boost glass-recycling rates in the US have been state and local affairs.

For example, 10 states have passed so-called bottle bills that require consumers to pay deposits on beverage bottles. The idea is consumers will be more likely to recycle the bottles to get back their deposits.

The laws are having the intended effect. A few communities have set up bottle-redemption centers and instituted separate curbside glass collection. And North Carolina enacted an on-premise recycling bill that requires alcoholic-beverage-permit holders to recycle bottles and cans.

But sometimes solving a problem requires grabbing the bull by the horns. The Kansas City, Missouri—based beer maker bemoaned the absence of an active local recycling program, which meant that millions of its empty beer bottles were ending up in landfills.

There was hardly any recycling in the community because there was no local cullet processor. So Boulevard helped launch Ripple Glass, a cullet supplier for which Goth serves as general manager.

Following a European model, Ripple placed 60 large glass-only collection bins across Kansas City and nearby locations and has been successful in spreading the word about the benefits of recycling. The effort has driven locals to regularly fill the bins with clean, high-quality recyclable glass. Will efforts like these local and state ones bump up recycling rates across the US? Probably not quickly, experts say. Another factor helping Europe maintain high recycling rates is high landfill costs, which make trashing glass in those countries more expensive than recycling.

And, unlike in the US, recycling is legislated in many European countries nationally, not locally. Europeans have been recycling for many years, and children there are educated about it at school and at home starting at a young age. Contact the reporter. Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication. Engage with us on Twitter. The power is now in your nitrile gloved hands Sign up for a free account to increase your articles. Or go unlimited with ACS membership.

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All we need is few more details to create your reading experience. Not you? Sign in with a different account. Need Help? Membership Categories. Regular or Affiliate Member. Graduate Student Member. Undergraduate Student Member. Benefits Enjoy these benefits no matter which membership you pick. Thank you! Inorganic Chemistry Why glass recycling in the US is broken Americans turn old bottles into new ones at much lower rates than people in other countries.

A recent analysis explains why by Mitch Jacoby February 11, A version of this story appeared in Volume 97, Issue 6. This program provides low-interest loans to manufacturers with requirements similar to the FPG grants above.

Recycling Market Development Zone RMDZ Loan Program provides low-interest loans for the purchase of equipment and other relevant business costs for the manufacturing of products made from recycled postconsumer glass. California Redemption Value CRV and container grade glass is recycled through privately-operated redemption centers, curbside collection or special programs.

Check out the DOR official notices for glass payment information: handling fees, processing fees, scrap value, and quality incentive payments. The Glass Cleaning regulation allows recycling centers or processors with mixed loads of glass more than ten percent contaminated to receive CRV program payments for material not otherwise eligible. The glass must be cleaned to certain industrial standards, with approval from the Division of Recycling.

Glass Minimum Content Requirements : California manufacturers of new glass containers must use at least 35 percent postconsumer recycled glass, or 25 percent if the cullet is mixed-color. Likewise, fiberglass insulation manufacturers must use at least 30 percent postconsumer glass. In recent years, the two industries in California have used more than , tons of cullet annually.

The Quality Incentive Payment QIP program is designed to improve the quality and marketability of empty beverage containers collected for recycling. Certified recyclers and processors are encouraged to clean and color sort glass in return for a Quality Incentive Payment for each ton recycled.

We work hard to ensure that landfill waste is kept to an absolute minimum, allowing you to reassure your clients that you are working with a business dedicated to operating in an environmentally friendly manner. We provide a specialist glass recycling service in Bournemouth , Poole , Dorset , Oxford , Oxfordshire , Dorchester and Yeovil for commercial establishments working in a number of sectors.

We are an experienced team of recycling specialists based in Dorset and Oxfordshire. We have expertise in all areas of recycling and waste disposal ranging from cardboard recycling and End of Life Vehicle Collection , to trade waste disposal and metal recycling. For more information about our recycling services, or for further advice on how you can make a difference at home, contact our team on Locate your nearest household waste centre and scrap yard using the list below.

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