Glass
How can you reduce waste
- glass is a long lasting valuable resource, reuse glass as much as possible
- use glass containers to store food as it keeps food fresher for longer
- use glass creatively, for example storage solutions, homemade gifts, photo frames or they can even be used for drinking purposes.
When you choose to buy products in glass you are taking a positive stand for the environment. Even when a glass bottle reaches the end of its life, it is 100 percent recyclable. It can be melted down and used to produce more glass products. This makes glass one of the most eco-friendly materials available. When you recycle your glass bottles and jars in the green box make sure:
- they are empty and replace any lids or caps, these will get recycled too
- you rinse them out
- you do not make it a big job, you don’t even have to wash off the bottle and jar labels
More information about what you can recycle at the kerbside can be found on our waste and recycling page.
Recycling campaign
We know that recycling is important to our residents which is why we’re aiming to recycle every last glass bottle and jar in our area. Glass could take around 1 million years to break down naturally, but it can be recycled in just 30 days. Glass can be recycled over and over again and uses 40% less energy than using raw materials.
We are encouraging our residents to recycle the correct glass materials at the kerbside and to safely dispose of the rest. Please remember that broken glass cannot be recycled at the kerbside.
Please put any broken glass in your black bin safely wrapped in newspaper or in a bag. We also can’t accept Pyrex, drinks glasses and light bulbs as these have been specially treated in the manufacturing process, making them non-recyclable.
Recycling process
If you want to know what happens to your glass recycling once your green box is emptied, you can watch a video about it on our YouTube channel.
Processors separate the glass into different colours, crush it into small pieces (cullet) and run it under magnets and air suction vents to remove contaminants like plastic, paper and metal. The cullet is then melted in a furnace at over 1500°C and made into new bottles or jars.
More information about recycling glass waste can be found on our interesting recycling facts page.