Glass packaging – why should it be collected separately from other packaging materials?
Today, there are thousands of glass packaging collection containers across Estonia, both near apartment buildings and in public collection points. This is a great result – it allows us to direct very clean glass material straight into recycling. A few years ago, it was common for the wrong types of waste to be put into glass packaging containers, and sometimes the contents of the containers were contaminated. However, today people’s awareness has significantly improved, and glass packaging is generally very cleanly and properly sorted. We can say that people enjoy sorting glass.
WHY IS IT REASONABLE TO COLLECT GLASS PACKAGING COMPLETELY SEPARATELY?
When glass is collected separately by type, it’s incredibly easy to direct it into recycling: the truck empties the glass containers and takes the clean material directly to a recycling plant – there are several factories in Estonia that take this material for recycling. This way, the life cycle of glass recycling has a much smaller environmental footprint because several transport steps are avoided and less material is wasted. If glass is mixed with other packaging materials – in a mixed packaging container, the contents must first be transported to a sorting plant before being sent to the recycling facility. At the sorting line, the glass packaging can be extracted in one way – the glass breaks, is directed into a large drum, and is sifted out from the other waste. As a result, some of the glass ends up mixed with other packaging and gets lost. Additionally, in this case, the glass material may be quite dirty.
WHAT TYPES OF GLASS PACKAGING SHOULD BE COLLECTED IN GLASS CONTAINERS?
Glass packaging suitable for recycling and directing back into circulation mainly includes glass bottles and glass jars. Items such as mirrors, window glass, porcelain, heat-resistant glass, and other glass products that are not intended as packaging should not be placed in the glass packaging collection containers.
WHAT HAPPENS TO GLASS PACKAGING AFTER IT HAS BEEN COLLECTED?
After glass packaging has been collected, it is first sorted by color in recycling plants, and then it is crushed into glass shards. The shards are melted at a high temperature, and the resulting material is used to produce new glass packaging – glass bottles and glass jars.
The raw material obtained from used and collected glass packaging can also be used to make other products besides glass packaging. For example, glass is widely used as a composite material in the production of concrete blocks or lightweight aggregates. A factory in Järvakandi, Estonia, called GreenGravels, manufactures lightweight aggregate.
In some cases, the recycled glass shards are exported to factories outside Estonia, where the recycled glass packaging is used to make new glass products.
COLLECT YOUR GLASS PACKAGING AND CONTRIBUTE TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
When you buy products in glass packaging, you are purchasing a product packaged in 100% recyclable material. Glass packaging is reusable, and by doing so, you contribute to keeping nature clean. After use, collect your glass packaging and take it to a glass collection container. With our help, you can direct it back into recycling. The production of glass starts with the processing of sand, which means that fossil fuels are used in the process. Redirecting used glass back into recycling requires significantly less energy than producing new glass. Additionally, recycling glass that is already in circulation reduces the need for new sand extraction.
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