Get Excited for Recycled Glass Week!

Following the success of last year’s Recycled Glass Day, the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is hosting Recycled Glass Week Sept. 21-27 to encourage glass recycling across the country.

“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,” said Glass Packaging Institute President Joseph Cattaneo.

In anticipation of Recycled Glass Week, the GPI compiled a list of 10 ways to get involved in the festivities. Some of the Recycle Glass Week events include:

Recycle Glass Week YouTube Competition: The competition requires a 30-second YouTube video about the benefits of glass container recycling to be created, and winners will receive $2,000, $1,000 or $500. The submission deadline has been extended to Sept. 11. Check out last year’s winner.

Recycled glass is substituted for up to 70 percent of raw materials in the glass manufacturing industry, according to the GPI. Photo: Flickr/Mr_Beaver

Local Shindigs: Collection events and competitions will be held to encourage glass recycling across the U.S. Events are currently scheduled for Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Oklahoma. Some of the highlights include:

• Recycling and prizes during the Madison Square Park Concert Series on Sept. 19 and 26
• Recycling at Cliff’s Bar and Grill in Jacksonville, Fla.
• An employee competition benefiting a local food bank in Winchester, Indiana

Friends of Glass Awards: The 2009 winners of the “Friends of Glass” awards will be announced Sept. 23. The GPI will honor a Web site, hospitality organization, legislator, community and best friends of glass for making innovative and significant efforts to promote or participate in glass container recycling.

Clear Choice Awards: The 2009 winners of the “Clear Choice” awards will be announced Sept. 22. Since 1989, the Clear Choice Awards has honored consumer product goods manufacturers who expand the frontiers of glass packaging design by using glass containers in innovative ways

Through creating more awareness about the environmental benefits of glass container recycling, GPI members hope to help the industry reach a nationwide goal of 50 percent recycled content in the manufacturing of new glass bottles and jars by 2013. Using the EPA’s benefits calculator, GPI estimates energy savings from using 50 percent recycled content in all glass packages manufactured in the U.S. could save enough energy to power over 45,000 households for a year.

During the same week, FEVE (the European Glass Packaging Federation) will also hold “Choose Glass Week” in several European countries, creating an international platform to promote the benefits of and encourage glass container recycling in late September.