What is Glass recycling
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Glass recycling not only reduces landfill and saves on the use of non-renewable raw materials, it also lowers the CO2 emissions released during glass manufacture. What’s more, most glass is 100% recyclable, and can be recycled again and again.
Once you’ve learned how to recycle glass, it isn’t difficult or time-consuming to make glass recycling part of your everyday routine at work, yet your business will soon reap the rewards through reduced glass disposal costs and a reputation of caring for the environment.
Simple segregation systems, such as bins or skips can be used for glass disposal of different colours while glass crushing machines can help to save space, especially useful for bottle recycling in the hospitality sector.
How is glass recycled
As a whole, the UK has a creditable 71% rate of glass recycling, with a goal of 90% by 2030. However, the commercial sector is lagging behind with around 129,000 tonnes of bottles and jars still making its way into landfill from pubs, restaurants and bars, every year where it’s estimated to take a million years for a glass bottle to decompose. Given how glass is recycled fairly easily, these glass disposal figures can be improved.
- Glass is collected from bottle banks, bins and skips, or glass crushing equipment and transported to a specialist glass recycling plant
- Glass is cleaned and crushed (if not already done so) to create cullet, and is separated into colours
- Contaminants such as paper or metal are removed
- Raw materials, such as iron or cobalt can be introduced to colour the glass, or aluminium and boron for durability and heat resistance
- Cullet (and additives) are melted in a furnace
- Molten glass is moulded or blown into new bottles or jars, used in energy efficient glass wool insulation for homes or water filtration media.
Benefits of glass recycling and crushing machines
Make life easier and reduce costs – Health and safety means that, glass is difficult to dispose of via normal commercial waste collection, often increasing the cost of your business’ waste disposal. Using a small crusher machine will reduce space required for glass bottle waste and make it easier and cheaper for a glass recycling company to collect. Remember there is landfill tax (currently nearly £100 per tonne) on waste sent for recycling.
Save resources, protect our planet –Your business’ green credentials can be boosted by employing a simple glass recycling strategy. Recycled glass takes a fraction of the energy and resources as virgin glass, while producing less CO2 and half as much water pollution.
Promote your policy – letting customers and suppliers know about your glass recycling is great PR. Many businesses are more likely to engage a socially responsible supplier and it could mean the difference between winning or losing a contract.
Trade your glass for cash – as well as saving space by using glass crushing equipment and making savings on bottle disposal costs, glass and bottle recycling really does pay. With current glass recycling prices being as much as £19 per tonne (August 2021), the hospitality industry is currently missing out on nearly £2.5m in glass bottles going straight to landfill.
Installing the phs Wastekit BB06 Glass Crusher can help you make the most of your glass bottle waste. Simply wheel a standard 120L or 150L bin into position and feed up to 680 bottles in 10 minutes/ over 2 tons per hour into the glass crushing equipment to obtain cullet that can be wheeled away for collection by a glass recycling company.
An extraction system ensures the removal of fine glass particles from the air while low noise and a small footprint makes the glass crusher suitable for use in any environment.
Simply contact phs Wastekit to discover how easy it is to introduce the benefits of glass recycling to your business.