GPI Announces Recycle Glass Week

Following the success of last year’s Recycle Glass Day, the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) has announced that the campaign will run for an entire week this year. Starting Sept. 21, this year’s Recycle Glass Week will take place before America Recycles Day, which is celebrated Nov. 15.

According to the EPA, the recycling rate in the U.S. was less than 30 percent in 2007. By comparison, aluminum cans are recycled over 50 percent of the time in the U.S.

Recycle Glass Week also marks the return of the GPI YouTube video competition for college students. Interested students can create a 30-second video promoting glass recycling and win up to $2,000. The deadline to submit a video is August 21. Last year’s winning video came from Michigan State students and included the tagline, “Glass Can’t Recycle Itself.” (Check out the video below.)

Some other things to keep an eye on for Recycle Glass Week include:

• Clear Choice Award winners for excellence in glass packaging will be announced online via GPI’s site
• Local activities and events presented in partnership with GPI membership companies
• Recognition of the Friends of Glass

“We are asking consumers to recycle their glass bottles and jars to help reduce the amount of recyclable materials entering landfills and help create a ‘greener’ future,” says GPI President Joseph Cattaneo. “We hope people make recycling all forms of packaging a habit this Earth Day and every day, because when we work together, we can save energy and our planet.”