Glass is an endlessly recyclable material, and is made with recycled glass (called cullet), sand, lime and soda ash – non-reactive natural materials that are safe to reuse – glass can also be made on a closed-loop cycle. That means the material from a final glass product can be turned into the exact same product without losing its quality or purity. Put simply, Glass is 100% recyclable, meaning a recycled glass container can become new glass over and over again.
What’s more, when the recycled glass reaches manufacturers, like us at O-I, we use fewer raw materials and the manufacturing process itself requires less energy. 1kg of recycled glass (or cullet) replaces 1.2kg of virgin raw materials, conserving natural resources and reducing environmental impact
Growing concerns for the environment are seeing both consumers and businesses more motivated to be environmentally conscious when it comes to what they purchase and, for businesses, what they manufacture.
Although this is a collective concern across all generations, it’s much more pronounced amongst millennial consumers. 32%* are willing to pay more for products in sustainable packaging. 62%** of millennials even stated that they were willing to reject brands, products and services based on concerns around their environmental impact.
With their increased spending power, millennials are a socially-conscious group of consumers that shouldn’t be ignored.
The brands that do pay attention by establishing an environmentally-conscious reputation today have an opportunity to grow market share while building loyalty among the power-spending millennials of tomorrow.
O-I is proud of the role we play in creating a better planet through our products and our processes. The process of glass recycling begins with cullet – a main ingredient in the glass manufacturing process. Cullet is recycled, broken or waste glass made from post-consumer and post-production glass, fine grinds and flat glass, like windows.
O-I is taking a tailored approach to increase high volumes of cullet across our global network as rates vary significantly by geography. We have set an ambitious goal of increasing cullet to a system wide 50% average by 2030 globally.
Once processed, cullet is then added into the glass making production process. The recycled glass is combined with all-natural materials and then transferred to the furnace for melting.
The liquid molten glass mixture is then cooled and cut into ‘gobs’ of molten glass before being diverted into moulds within our forming machine.
After they have passed a rigorous inspection process, the newly formed glass containers are packaged and shipped to our customers.
Astonishingly, although the process is complex, the glass bottle from your recycling bin can go back into a new bottle to the store in as little as 30 days.
Glass is one of the easiest materials to recycle and is an endlessly recyclable material!
Glass, along with other recycled materials, is hauled from recycling bins to a material recovery facility—also known as a MRF. The MRF is a giant sorting facility used to divide recyclables into their respective streams. Fortunately, glass bottles and jars are easy to separate from the other recyclables.
Glass is an ideal material to support a circular economy. The circular economy is aimed at keeping resources in a cycle used to make new products. It minimizes the need for external resources to make new products.
A few things can be done at home to ensure high percentages of cullet can be used in the glass containers we make. Food and beverage bottles or jars are the only glass items O-I can reuse. These containers should then be colour sorted into amber, green and flint. This helps further down the lines as it allows us to better colour match our customers’ colour standards when the cullet becomes a brand-new glass container.
The benefits of recycling glass for business, our communities and our planet are clear.
If you would like to learn how glass and sustainability can help your brand be more successful, then please reach out to ploynapas.aroonsirirat@o-i.com and bayard.sinnema@o-i.com
We would love to hear from you.
*Source: G&S Business Communications/FPA: 2018 Brand Owner and Consumer Insights on the Sustainability of Flexible Packaging – A New FPA Study
**Source: Nielsen Consumer/Media View: aged 18+, Survey 2, 2017 National Database April 2016-March 2