The month-long program is intended to raise awareness and educate consumers about the benefits of recycling glass containers and packaging.
Recently, I was enjoying a beverage from a glass bottle when I noticed a label I hadn’t seen before. It read: “Please go out of your way to recycle this bottle.” In this case, a recycling bin was within walking distance, so it was a no-brainer for me.
Glass is, after all, 100% endlessly recyclable, never losing strength or purity. Yet our glass recycling rates in the U.S. are still unacceptably low, hovering around 31%.
Luckily, September is Recycle Glass Month, a month-long glass recycling education and awareness program produced by the Glass Packaging Institute with 55 events spanning 20 states. The message is simple: keep glass out of landfills, save energy and save our valued resources. After all, recycling a glass bottle is not difficult; consumers are just unfortunately careless when disposing of their waste.
Recycle Glass Month aims to change that fact. Even if you do not attend an event, you can still learn valuable facts and find local resources to help you recycle your glass more efficiently. You can even show your support for the program by purchasing Recycle Glass Month apparel and accessories from a themed CafePress e-store.
A nifty carbon calculator on the Recycle Glass Month website provides an eye-opening numerical value to your current glass recycling pace. Just recycling that one glass bottle saved enough energy to:
- Light a compact florescent bulb for: 7 hours 8 minutes;
- light a standard 60-watt light bulb for: 1 hour 40 minutes;
- operate a computer for: 20 minutes; and
- operate a TV for: 13 minutes.
Clearly, every glass recycling effort makes a major difference, so do your part this month and encourage your family, co-workers, peers and community members to recycle their glass!
For more information on Recycle Glass Month events, ‘Like’ the program’s Facebook page.
To find a glass recycling location near you, enter your ZIP code into the recycling location finder.
Plasticplace.net
September 12th, 2011
We can make an alternative for plastic bottles, why don’t we use the regular glass bottle? For sure it can be reused as many times as possible. With plastic bottles, it’s easy to dispose it, but with the increase in production of plastic materials, it also increases the plastic wastes thrown on landfills. And if not disposed appropriately, it will be littered on the oceans –which mean more pollution. There are a lot of things we can do with plastic bottles if we learn how to reuse and recycle this stuff.
closetheloop.com
September 13th, 2011
A new use for recycled glass ~ Glass Mulch ~ eye-catching colors of tumbled glass to spruce up the landscaping around your home or business. There are 100 bottles in every 50 lb bag. SO many benefits to using glass this way ~ colors never fade, rain water goes down through the glass to the roots of the plants (wood mulch absorbs moisture), less maintenance. http://www.closetheloop.com/products/gardenglassmulch.html or our How To Videos!
Sean Gettings
September 14th, 2011
I run the recycling program at my sons school in Portland, Oregon. We seem to find glass in the trash more then any other product that is easily recycled. I like to look in trash cans and pull out plastic, cans and glass that can be recycled. It’s not a clean job but every bit helps. Next time your at the park or the grocery store see what is in the trash that can be recycled and smile as the people around you take notice.