How to recycle glass properly

„We really don’t know exactly how long it takes a glass bottle to decompose in a landfill, but we do know that it can break into smaller pieces eventually.“ (Schab, 2017)

Recently I was looking at a poster on how to recycle glass properly. The advertising was published by VetroSwiss (…damit Glassrecycling rund läuft…). Their slogan indicates, that only if glass is separated properly by color and without any extraneous material it can be recycled properly.

Extraneous material includes:

• Aluminium

• Ceramics

• Wire

• Parts of mirror

So how is glass recycled? The process contains six steps: Firstly, glass is thrown into a glass recycle bin by the consumer. Secondly, glass is taken to a glass treatment plant where it is sorted by color and washed to remove any impurities. Then it is crushed and melted. The next step is to mold it into new products such as bottles and jars. The other possibility is, that it may be used for alternative purposes such as brick manufacture or decorative uses. After the recycling process, the new products will be sent back to the shops and are ready to be used again

To help recycle glass properly please remember to separate it properly by color and without any extraneous material.

Sources:

http://www.persoenlich.com/kategorie-werbung/falsche-flaschen-fuer-vetroswiss-325020

http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/science-glass.html

http://oureverydaylife.com/long-glass-bottle-degrade-landfill-40893.html

http://www.frontpagemag.com/sites/default/files/uploads/2010/03/glassrecycle.jpg

http://www.vetroswiss.ch