Facts About Green Glass

As you pour a glass of wine, you are probably thinking more about the taste than how that bottle became that shade of green, or even its impact on the environment.

If you are at home what happens to that green bottle?  Do you toss it in the trash or do you recycle it? Before tossing your bottles in the recycling bin, be sure to check the types of glass accepted by your recycler, as not all will accept colored glass.

Additionally, the environmental impacts of recycling green glass bottles is worth the extra thought.  According to the Glass Packaging Institute, recycling bottles:

• Reduces energy costs by two to three percent for every 10 percent of furnace.
• Conserves raw materials: one ton of recycled glass saves 1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash and 380 pounds of limestone.
• Lowers landfill usage: even thought glass containers are 40 percent lighter than they were 20 years ago, trashed glass still places a burden on already overwhelmed sites.

Recycling glass bottles is as easy as dropping them into your curbside recycling bin or taking them back to the grocery store, where you may receive a bottle deposit for returning them.  You can also search for locations to recycle that green glass using Earth911.