Glass Recycling
Resource Pack
Glass is an endless
resource that is 100%
and infinitely recyclable
get
started
Brought to you by Friends of Glass and
Introduction
2
The Aim
The Glass Recycling
Resources Pack has been
developed to help Local
Authorities and businesses
to increase consumer
glass recycling. It has been
produced by Friends of Glass
and Recycle Now to support
consumer communications
campaigns that are designed
to increase the amount of glass
packaging recycled either at
the kerbside or at glass banks.
The information
contained aims to:
Increase consumer
awareness of the need
to recycle more glass
packaging
Increase consumer
understanding of what
types of glass can be
recycled and where
Increase the number of
people who recycle all of
the glass packaging they
can, based on the local
collection services and
glass banks available.
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
Involved
Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
3
Why focus on glass packaging?
Under the Packaging
Regulations the UK
government has set annual
recycling targets for packaging
materials. The targets for
glass are set up to 2020. The
majority of glass packaging is
consumed in the home rather
than in businesses so the
majority of the glass required
for recycling needs to be
collected from UK households.
In addition, the UK is required
to achieve a 50% household
recycling rate by 2020, which
is something increased glass
packaging recycling will
contribute to.
Current targets remain in
place for the time being and
future targets are expected to
increase over the coming years
as landfill capacity continues to
decrease, resulting in recycling
remaining on the political
agenda. Glass recycling
will remain a key material in
reducing landfill. It is a mono
material which means it can be
recycled easily and is regarded
as a permanent material.
This means it does not
change or lose quality during
use, regardless of repeated
recycling into new products.
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
Involved
Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
About Friends of Glass
Friends of Glass is a consumer
campaign that promotes the
benefits of glass packaging,
including its 100% recyclability.
Created in 2008 by FEVE,
an international not-for-profit
association representing the
glass packaging industry, the
movement has over 100,000
Friends and a 84,000-strong
following on social media.
Through its website, online
channels and events, Friends
of Glass provides guidance
and information to support the
recycling of glass packaging
both at the kerbside and away
from home.
Introduction
4
About Recycle Now
Friends of Glass UK is
managed by the British Glass
Manufacturers Confederation
on behalf of container glass
manufacturing members
Ardagh, O-I, Beatson Clark,
Encirc, Allied and Stolzle.
The Friends of Glass campaign
unites all those who regard
glass as an ideal packaging
material because of its benefits
for health, taste and the
environment.
Recycle Now is an established
national brand. It is associated
with driving positive changes
in recycling behaviour and
is underpinned by robust
research.
Recycle Now is a trademark
of the circular economy and
resource efficiency charity,
WRAP.
Recycle Now’s Strategy for
2015–17 aims to:
• Contribute to recycling
50% of the UK’s household
waste by 2020;
• Contribute to meeting the
UK packaging recycling
targets;
• Encourage consumers to
recycle more of the right
things, every time from
around the home; and
• Increase recognition of the
Recycle Now brand
Our vision is to:
Ensure the benefits of glass
are understood and that all
glass packaging is recycled.
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Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
Glass packaging can be
recycled into wide variety
of products but the best
environmental outcome is
to have it recycled back into
glass packaging or glass fibre
insulation, this is known as
‘glass remelt’. Recycled glass
used to make glass containers
again is known as ‘cullet’.
This outcome is popular with
consumers too.
Recycled glass can also be
used in other applications
such as:
• Aggregates
• Filtration
• Shot blasting
However these offer limited
environmental benefits.
5
CO2 Emission Savings for
Recycled Glass Applications
Glass
Containers
UK
314
Glass
Containers
Exported
290
Glass
Fibre
275
Brick
Manufacture
66
Shot
Blast
19
-2
Aggregates
kg CO2
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
CO2 Emission Savings kg/tonne of recycled glass
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
6
The Glass Journey
It takes around 30 days for a
bottle or jar to return as new
to the shelf. Take a look at the
fascinating journey here:
Introduction
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Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
7
Why Should Glass Packaging be Recycled?
Glass recycled back into
glass packaging reduces CO2
emissions and reduces costs.
For a glass manufacturer, the
use of cullet (the name given to
the recycled broken or waste
glass used in glass-making)
is very beneficial. Apart from
reducing the amount of virgin
raw material required, around
2.5-3% in energy savings can
be achieved for every 10% of
cullet that replaces primary
raw materials, as less energy is
needed to melt cullet.
Recycling reduces
disposal costs.
In 2014/5, based on an
average disposal cost of £100
per tonne, it is estimated that
the cost of disposing of glass
packaging that could have
been recycled was £50 million
across the UK.
Recycling 1 tonne of
glass packaging via a
remelt process and back
into glass packaging for
example, saves 265 kg of
CO2 or 72 kg of carbon.
72 kg of carbon is
equivalent to 100 litres
of diesel. This is the
equivalent of traveling
nearly 4,000 miles in an
average car.
On average, 1 tonne of
recycled glass (cullet)
replaces 1.2 tonnes of
virgin raw material, saving
0.67 tonnes of CO2 for
every tonne of finished
glass. In other words, by
replacing 100% of the virgin
materials with recycled
glass, CO2 emissions are
cut by about 58%.
Source: FEVE
Source: WRAP
Increasing the use of cullet in
glass packaging manufacture
therefore also reduces the
amount of CO2 emissions. This
leads to savings in both fuel
and raw material costs.
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
8
Useful Facts and Figures
How much glass packaging
is in the home?
• An estimated 2.4 million
tonnes of glass packaging
is used in the UK each year
• Of that 2.4 million tonnes, 1.8
million tonnes can be found
in UK households each year.
That’s equivalent to nearly 10
million wine bottles every day
How much glass packaging
is collected and recycled in
the UK?
• Around 1.3 million tonnes
of glass packaging
was collected from UK
households in 2014/5
• This means that 0.5 million
tonnes of glass, equivalent
to 2.8 million bottles of
wine, is not being recycled
every day
The energy saving from
recycling just one glass
bottle will power a computer
for 25 minutes, a TV for
20 minutes, or a washing
machine for 10 minutes.
Did you know?
• Around 87% of all local
authorities in the UK collect
glass packaging from the
kerbside
• High performing authorities
collect nearly 61kg of glass
packaging from households
per year with the best
collecting over 100kg
• All glass packaging can
carry the ‘widely recycled’
logo if the brand/retailer of
the product is a member
of ‘On-Pack Recycling
Labelling’ (ORPL) scheme
which is managed by OPR
Ltd.
ow.com
recyclen
BOT TLE
G L ASS
widely
recycled
Based on an average wine
bottle weight of 500g
Introduction
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Consumer Insight
Research indicates that
ensuring glass is recycled
for creating new bottles and
jars isn’t just good for the
environment, reducing energy
use and CO2 emissions but
consumers expect it too. 91%
of those questioned in two
local authority areas, felt it was
important that their recycled
glass was made into new
bottles and jars
(Cogent/British Glass 2011).
How important to you is it that your glass is recycled
by being made into new glass bottles and jars?
50%
Key
Very Important
39%
Quite Important
Not very important
Not important at all
7%
4%
All respondents (200)
Source: Cogent 2011
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Glass Information Hub
10
Below is a range of videos and web pages from glass
manufacturers that tell the story of how glass is made.
Videos:
Educational:
The Glass Making Process
http://www.glassmakingprocess.com/
The Adventures of Captain Cullet and Little Gob of Glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uDUx7D87Rc
Fire & Sand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOsXOsb7oz4&feature=youtu.be
Glass Recycling Programme, Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEqUgkw69_k
How glass is made
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJWkhVV2SE4
Glass Recycling Programme, Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E8mE7grFIQ
Reasons to love glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfFcpiH0SOA
Why glass?
http://www.friendsofglass.com/gb/why-glass/
How are bottles recycled?
http://www.britglass.org.uk/how-are-bottles-recycled
Infinitely recyclable
http://www.britglass.org.uk/infinitely-recyclable
How is it recycled?
http://www.recyclenow.com/recycling-knowledge/how-is-itrecycled/glass
Facts about glass
http://www.britglass.org.uk/facts-about-glass
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Resources and Getting Involved
11
Introduction
You have the ability to influence
householders’ behaviour –
so we want to help you be
involved in increasing the
amount and quality of glass
packaging waste collected.
Friends of Glass and Recycle
Now have worked together
to produce materials and
campaign advice, drawing on
evidence and experience.
Templates are available in
many formats and focus on
different messages so you can
pick, choose and customise
meet your local needs.
Introduction
Recycle Now User Guide
Please read the Recycle Now
User Guide when planning to
use the materials. It provides
details and guidance on how
you can localise the resources
to your area, and illustrates the
flexibilities and restrictions in
using the materials.
Recycle Now
USER GUIDE
Images of the individual
recyclable product items can
be downloaded here.
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Resources and Getting Involved
Friends of Glass
Recycle Now
Friends of Glass has a huge
amount of information about
glass and glass recycling on
its website, plus copyrightfree images that can be
downloaded from the Press/
Images pages.
Communication
Material Templates
Please follow these links for
more details:
http://news.friendsofglass.com/
image-bank/
There are a wide range of
materials that are available to
download, customise and use.
They have been designed to
be flexible and adaptable to
the local collection regime and
priorities while maintaining
the essence of the campaign
brand.
The materials are aimed at
reminding householders
specifically which glass
packaging items can be
recycled and that glass
packaging occurs and can be
recycled from all around the
home.
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
12
The templates available include:
Animation.
• A4, A3 and 6 sheet posters
There is also an animated
film about how glass bottles
and jars are recycled. A link to
this film can be embedded on
your websites.
• Bus backs
• Pull up display banners
• Lamp post banner
• A5 leaflet with two different
cover options. Both are
customisable to a local
service
• A4 and A3 ‘Local Benefit’
posters including a formula
to enable localisation of
energy transformation
• Digital material which
includes, web banners,
animated web banners and
social media images.
Resources and Getting
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Template Press Release
These can be adapted for
those who provide a collection
service for glass packaging.
The template Press Release
can be used by Local
Authorities to communicate
why it is good to recycle glass.
This can be adapted for those
where only bring banks are
available.
Campaigns in Action
Resources and Getting Involved
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Digital campaigns
Social media is a great way to
promote the glass recycling
message.
You can follow the Friends of
Glass or Recycle Now Twitter
or Facebook feeds
Twitter
@FriendsGlassUK
@recycle_now
Facebook
Alternatively, you could link to
www.friendsofglass.co.uk
or the appropriate page on the
Recycle Now website from
your homepage or intranet.
You can engage with Friends
of Glass or Recycle Now
campaigns through these
channels or download the
generic written copy and
images to use in your own
social media pages, intranet
and website.
Friends of Glass
Recycle Now
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Resources and Getting Involved
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FAQs
Some FAQs residents/
consumers may ask you and
some suggested responses
that you could you use or
customised to your own area.
Q. What do I have to do with
my glass bottles and jars
before I recycle them?
Q. What does my glass
packaging get recycled
into?
A. Make sure they are empty
and replace any lids or caps,
these will get recycled too.
A. Depending on your
collection method and waste
contractor you may choose/
amend one of the following
answers:
Q. Do I have to wash out
the bottles and jars before
recycling them?
A. We ask that they are rinsed
as it is more hygienic but it
is not essential for recycling
purposes.
Q. Do I have to remove
the labels on the glass
packaging bottles before
recycling?
A. No, the glass reprocessors
have the technology in place to
deal with labels.
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Q. I’ve heard that recycling
glass back into glass
containers is the best thing
to do, why don’t you do
that?
A. The reason that our glass
doesn’t go back into glass
packaging is due to:
1. Your glass is sorted and
recycled back into glass
containers that are generally
manufactured here in the UK.
1. more equipment is needed
to sort the material to the
right quality acceptable for
glass manufacture.
2. Your glass is sorted and is
sent for recycling back into
glass containers in either
the UK or Europe.
2. co-mingled collections are
seen as being the most
convenient collection
method.
3. Your glass is sorted and
used as an aggregate
replacement here in the UK.
3. it is not economically
viable for us.
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Resources and Getting Involved
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FAQ’s
Q. Can I put other items of
glass, such as lightbulbs
and wine glasses in my
recycling?
A. No, we just want glass
packaging, other glass items
cause problems during the
reprocessing of the glass so
are not wanted.
Q. Can I put my glass oven
wear, such Pyrex, in my
recycling?
A. No, we just want glass
packaging, oven wear melts
at a much higher temperature
than glass packaging and
causes problems during the
reprocessing of the glass so is
not wanted.
Introduction
Q. Can I put crockery in my
recycling?
A. No, we just want glass
packaging and this material
is not compatible and
causes problems during the
reprocessing and manufacure
of glass.
Q. Can I only put packaging
such as bottle and jars into
recycling? What about oven
wear, drinking glasses,
lightbulbs, window panes,
mirrors or ceramics?
A. Packaging glass has a
different chemical composition
to the glass used for other
domestic and architectural
uses – which means it has
different properties, such as
melting temperature. Mixing
Glass Information Hub
other types of glass with
packaging glass causes
problems in the recycling
process. So please only
put packaging glass in your
household recycling.
Q. Why do I have to take my
glass to a bottle bank, why
don’t you collect glass with
my other recyclables?
A. Depending on your
collection method you may
need to tailor the answer to this
question but here are some
suggestions:
2. In order to keep the quality
of both the glass and other
recyclable materials high,
we need to keep these
separate.
Q. How much glass is
recycled?
A. In the UK 1.3 million tonnes
of glass is collected annually
from households. This leaves
around half a million tonnes
that is not collected for
recycling.
1. We have good coverage
of bottle banks across the
borough and do not have
capacity in the recycling
collection scheme to add
glass.
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Campaigns in Action
Resources and Getting Involved
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Glossary of terms Glass Packaging
Permanent Material
Recycled material
Reusable
Renewable
Glass is a permanent material
which means its properties
don’t change during use
regardless of repeated
recycling into new products
such as bottles and jars.
Glass that has been
reprocessed from recovered
(reclaimed) material by means
of a manufacturing process
and made into a new bottle
or jar.
A glass bottle or jar that has
been specifically designed for
multiple use and extended
life. Reuse glass bottles are
recycled in the same way as
single trip bottles and jars.
Material that is composed
of biomass from a living
source such as wind, sun and
waves that can be continually
replenished.
Recyclable
Recovered
(reclaimed) material
Refillable
When a material such as glass
can be collected, processed
and returned to use in the
form of raw material or new
products.
Recycled content
Material – such as glass cullet
- that would have otherwise
been disposed of as waste but
has instead been used in lieu
of new primary material in the
manufacturing process.
A product or packaging that
can be filled with the same
or similar product more
than once, in its original
form and without additional
processing except for specified
requirements such as cleaning
or washing.
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Resources and Getting
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This refers to the proportion of
cullet, or recycled glass present
in a new bottle or jar.
Introduction
Campaigns in Action
Campaigns
17
Campaigns in Action
Do you have a glass recycling
success story to tell?
Share your glass recycling
successes with us so that
others may be inspired by your
results!
Please send details of your
successes or images of how
you have used any of the
communications material in
your local area or business to
[email protected]
Introduction
How can we help?
Remember to include:
• Your contact details
• Details of your glass
recycling scheme
• Images showing the
scheme in action.
Glass Information Hub
Friends of Glass is dedicated to
promoting the environmental,
health and taste benefits
of glass packaging. If you
would like to explore how
the campaign could help
with encouraging more glass
recycling in your area, please
get in touch (see contact
details at the end of this Pack).
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Campaigns
18
Campaigns in Action
Leeds City Council
promoting Glass recycling
Take a look at the video here:
Introduction
Glass Information Hub
Resources and Getting
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Campaigns in Action
Contact details
19
For further information and any questions about glass recycling
communications please contact:
Friends of Glass
Recycle Now
www.friendsofglass.co.uk
www.recyclenow.com
Contact: [email protected]
Contact: www.recyclenow.com/can-we-help
British Glass
www.britglass.org.uk
Contact: 0114 290 1850
Introduction
Glass Info Hub
Resources and Getting
Involved
Campaigns in Action