Glass recycling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Public glass waste collection point in a neighborhood area for separating colorless, green and amber glass

Glass recycling is the process of turning waste glass into usable products. Glass waste should be separated by chemical composition, and then, depending on the end use and local processing capabilities, might also have to be separated into different colors. Many recyclers collect different colors of glass separately since glass retains its color after recycling. The most common types used for consumer containers are colorless glass, green glass, and brown/amber glass. Glass makes up a large component of household and industrial waste due to its weight and density. The glass component in municipal waste is usually made up of bottles, broken glassware, light bulbs and other items. Adding to this waste is the fact that many manual methods of creating glass objects have a defect rate of around forty percent. Glass recycling uses less energy than manufacturing glass from sand, lime and soda. [1]

Cullet from U.S. beer bottles (June 1972).

Every metric ton (1,000 kg) of waste glass recycled into new items saves 315 kilograms (690 lb) of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere during the creation of new glass.[2] Glass that is crushed and ready to be remelted is called cullet. [3]
Contents [hide]

1 Glass collection 2 Glass recycling by country

o o

2.1 Germany 2.2 United Kingdom

2.2.1 Secondary uses for recycled glass

2.3 United States

3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit]Glass

collection

Most collection points have separate bins for clear, green and amber. Glass reprocessors require separation by colour as the different colours of glass are usually chemically incompatible. Heat-resistant glass like Pyrex or borosilicate glass should not be disposed of in the glass container as even a single piece of such material will alter the viscosity of the fluid in the furnace at remelt. Glass is an ideal material for recycling and where it is used for new glass container manufacture it is virtually infinitely recyclable. The use of recycled glass in new containers helps save energy. It helps in brick and ceramic manufacture, and it conserves raw materials, reduces energy consumption, and reduces the volume of waste sent to landfill.[4] [edit]Glass

recycling by country

[edit]Germany In 2004, Germany recycled 2,116,000 tons of glass. Reusable glass or plastic (PET) bottles are available for many drinks, especially beer and carbonated water as well as soft drinks (Mehrwegflaschen). The deposit per bottle (Pfand) is 0.08-0.15, compared to 0.25 for recyclable but not reusable plastic bottles. There is no deposit for glass bottles which do not get refilled. [edit]United

Kingdom

Vehicle emptying a glass bank in Europe

Glass collection points, known as Bottle Banks are very common near shopping centres, at civic amenity sites and in local neighborhoods in the United Kingdom. The first Bottle Bank was introduced by Stanley

Race CBE, then president of the Glass Manufacturers Federation and Ron England in Barnsley on 6 June 1977.[5] Development work was done by the DoE at Warren Springs laboratory, Stevenage, (now AERA at Harwell) and Nazeing Glass Works , Broxboure to prove if a usable glass product could be made from over 90% recycled glass. It was found necessary to use magnets to remove unwanted metal closures in the mix. Bottle Banks commonly stand beside collection points for other recyclable waste like paper, metals and plastics. Local, municipal waste collectors usually have one central point for all types of waste in which large glass containers are located. There are now over 50,000 bottle banks in the United Kingdom.[6] and 752,000 tons of glass are now recycled annually. [6] [edit]Secondary uses for recycled glass In the United Kingdom, the waste recycling industry cannot consume all of the recycled container glass that will become available over the coming years, mainly due to the colour imbalance between that which is manufactured and that which is consumed. The UK imports much more green glass in the form of wine bottles than it uses, leading to a surplus amount for recycling. The resulting surplus of green glass from imported bottles may be exported to producing countries, or used locally in the growing diversity of secondary end uses for recycled glass.[7] As of 2006, Cory Environmental were shipping glass cullet from the UK to Portugal.[8] The use of the recycled glass as aggregate in concrete has become popular in modern times, with large scale research being carried out at Columbia University in New York. This greatly enhances the aesthetic appeal of the concrete. Recent research findings have shown that concrete made with recycled glass aggregates have shown better long term strength and better thermal insulation due to its better thermal properties of the glass aggregates.[9] Secondary markets for glass recycling may include:

Glass in insulation products Glass in ceramic sanitary ware production Glass as a flux agent in brick manufacture Glass in astroturf and related applications (e.g. top dressing, root zone) material or golf bunker sand Glass in recycled glass countertops Glass as water filtration media Glass as an abrasive Glass as an aggregate

Glass aggregate, a mix of colors crushed to a small size, is substituted for pea gravel or crushed rock in many construction and utility projects, saving municipalities like the City of Tumwater, Washington Public Works, thousands of dollars (depending on the size of the project). Glass aggregate is not sharp to handle. In many

cases, the state Department of Transportation has specifications for use, size and percentage of quantity for use. Common applications are as pipe bedding--placed around sewer, storm water or drinking water pipes to transfer weight from the surface and protect the pipe. Another common use would be as fill to bring the level of a concrete floor even with a foundation. Mixed waste streams may be collected from materials recovery facilities or mechanical biological treatment systems. Some facilities can sort out mixed waste streams into different colours using electro-optical sorting units. [edit]United

States

Rates of recycling and methods of waste collection vary substantially across the United States because laws are written on the state or local level and large municipalities often have their own unique systems. [citation
needed]

Many cities do curbside recycling, meaning they collect household recyclable waste on a weekly or bi-

weekly basis that residents set out in special containers in front of their homes. Apartment dwellers usually use shared containers that may be collected by the city or by private recycling companies which can have their own recycling rules. In some cases, glass is specifically separated into its own container because broken glass is a hazard to the people who later manually sort the co-mingled recyclables. Sorted recyclables are later sold to companies. In 1971 the state of Oregon passed a law requiring buyers of carbonated beverages (such as beer and soda) to pay five cents per container as a deposit which would be refunded to anyone who returned the container for recycling. This law has since been copied in nine other states including New York and California. [citation
needed]

The abbreviations of states with deposit laws are printed on all qualifying bottles and cans. In states with

these container deposit laws, most supermarkets automate the deposit refund process by providing machines which will count containers as they are inserted and then print credit vouchers that can be redeemed at the store for the number of containers returned. Small glass bottles (mostly beer) are broken, one-by-one, inside these deposit refund machines as the bottles are inserted. A large, wheeled hopper (very roughly 1.5m by 1.5m by 0.5m) inside the machine collects the broken glass until it can be emptied by an employee.

Glass is a remarkable material made from quartz sand, soda ash and limestone. People use glass containers to dispense and store a wide variety of things, including caustic chemicals, lightning bugs, baby food, wayward buttons and coins. Glass is so versatile that it's also completely recoverable, meaning that it can be recycled over and over again without losing its original properties.

Beverage Containers

According to the EPA, Americans generated 11.8 million tons of glass in 2009, of which 26 percent, or more than 3 million tons, was recycled (see References 1, page 44). The largest contribution to this recovery rate was glass beverage containers. The product breakdown among the recycled mix included 39 percent glass beer and soft drink bottles, 18.1 percent wine and liquor bottles, and almost 18 percent bottled foods, condiment jars and other glass containers (see References 1, page 44).

More Bottles Wanted

According to Glass Packaging Institute, the glass manufacturing industry would like you to recycle even more glass bottles. That's because manufacturers in 2008 voluntarily set a target goal to produce new glass bottles that contain 50 percent recycled material by the end of 2013 (see References 2). That doesn't mean you should drink more beer or pop more soda bottles. Remarkably, the institute claims that a glass bottle can go from arecycling center to the store in only 30 days (see References 3), so every contribution to the curb will find itself back into the retail fold in short order.

Colored Glass
In addition to sand, limestone and soda ash, most new glass is made from a "recipe" that includes crushed recycled glass, known in the industry as "cullet" (see References 5). Because 90 percent of new glass is produced from recycled glass, quality cullet is a valuable resource. In fact, the EPA notes that the demand for cullet exceeds the available supply (see References 5). This is because cullet is cheaper than traditional raw materials and takes less energy to process since it melts at lower temperatures. Formerly, clear glass was considered the most valuable in terms of cullet worthiness. Today, however, most recycling programs accept and process brown and green glass, too. Collectively, colored recycled glass is made into countertops, tile, reflective beads, aggregate for roads, match tips and even decorative garden mulch (see References 4, page 2).

Non-Glass Products
There are many types of household items that are not made of glass exclusively but contain glass that can be recovered and recycled. This includes certain appliances, furniture, household electronics and portable devices. A caveat: Your recycling company may not accept these types of durable goods, so call and ask. Alternatively, your town or city may have a drop-off center for such item

What is Glass Recycling?

Glass recycling is one of the most efficient recycling operations there is. Glass is a very recyclable material and doing so saves money and resources. The UK has a poor record of glass recycling which is a wasted opportunity. Glass that is not recycled will lie in a landfill site forever. It is inert, so although the resource is being wasted, there should be no further damage to the environment. What is involved in the recycling process, what is the glass eventually made into and how much do we recycle?

The Recycling Process

Glass can be recycled indefinitely forever without loss of quality. All that is required is to heat the glass so that it melts and combine it with virgin glass. The diagram shows the main stages of the process from making new glass through to recycling it. Cullet is the name given to glass when it has been processed ready for recycling.

It should be noted that before the cullet is made, it is separated into different colours, normally clear, green and brown. Re-using Glass As well as melting it down and making it into other glass products, glass bottles can also be re-filled. It used to be commonplace to have bottles collected and then sent to the factory to be sterilised and refilled, particularly for milk. This is not so common now mainly because the producers of the food or drink are located far from the people buying the products. It is therefore inefficient to transport the empty bottles to be refilled. However, it is efficient if the market is close to the factory.

What is Recycled Glass used for?

The majority of glass goes back into making more containers and sheets. Other products can also be made from recycled glass: Fibre Glass Brick and clay manufacture Specialist products such as light bulbs, TV sets and computer screens Decorative glass and glassware Water Filtration Used for shot blasting

Recycling Glass in the UK

The UK has a poor record of glass recycling compared with other European countries. In 2002, only 34% of glass consumed in the UK was recycled. However, government targets have resulted in progress and in 2004 this figure had risen to 46%. The target is to achieve 71%. There are 2 main stumbling blocks: 1. Collection there are few but a growing number of kerbside collections. This means that the majority of collection is reliant on people taking their glass to bottle banks. More kerbside collections would make it easier for consumers and less glass would be thrown in the bin and ending up in landfills. 2. Colour The UK produces mainly clear glass for packaging products. However consumers buy many imported glass, much of it wine in green bottles. This means that there is too much green glass collected than demand this is often transported on to mainland Europe. There is not enough clear glass required for UK products currently being recycled. This could be boosted if less clear glass was thrown out meaning there would be less demand for virgin glass. Return from Glass Recycling to Glass Page

Recycled glass countertops

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2009) This article relies on references to primary sources. (August 2009) Recycled glass countertops are composed of 100% recycled glass (post consumer and pre-consumer) in a cement or petroleum based binder. A finished recycled glass countertop often ranges from 70 to 85 percent in recycled content.
Contents [hide]

1 Environmental concerns 2 Cement vs. petroleum binders 3 Criticism 4 References

[edit]Environmental

concerns

The glass used in recycled glass countertops is sourced from both post-consumer and pre-consumer sources. Post-consumer recycled glass sources are numerous, but the most common sources are curbside recycling and salvaged glass from demolished buildings. Curbside recycled glass from homes and businesses is the largest source of post consumer recycled glass (California recycled 79% of its glass bottles in 2008), but salvage glass is an emerging new source. Many more state and municipal governments have begun to mandate the separation and recycling of the glass pulled from demolished buildings. Where the recycled glass countertops are made is another variable that is taken into account when determining the sustainability of a recycled glass countertop. At this time most of the companies manufacture their products in the United States, but recycled glass countertops have gained international interest. Now some foreign companies have begun to export recycled glass countertops to the USA. This practice of importing heavy (14.5 lbs/sqr ft) recycled glass countertops from overseas when there is such a large quantity of recycled glass in the USA has quickly come under scrutiny. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program has begun to put increasing weight on the importance of regional manufacturing to reduce

the carbon footprint of building materials. This focus on materials made in the USA has the secondary affect of encouraging the support of US business in a time of economic downturn. Several recycled glass countertop manufacturers have committed to providing green jobs to the low-income neighborhoods surrounding their manufacturing facilities. Some, but not all of the manufacturers use facilities that are solar powered and/or day-lit by south facing skylights. These manufacturers will also incorporate some degree of water recycling in their polishing process. [edit]Cement

vs. petroleum binders

The use of cement versus petroleum based binders has raised some questions about the sustainability of petroleum binders for a number of reasons. The use of a petroleum binder creates a less expensive product, but its performance withstanding heat is diminished and therefore shortens the lifetime of the product. Unlike the products that use the cement binder, the petroleum binder products are not as easily recyclable at the end of their life. However, cement-based products are the second largest contributor of greenhouse gases.[citation
needed]

Petroleum based binders do present the advantage that they do not need to be sealed once to twice a year like cement based recycled glass countertops. However, the sealing process is a simple 20 minute procedure: clean surface, spray on a stone sealer available at any hardware or garden store, let sit 20 minutes and wipe away. [edit]Criticism The potential environmental benefits of finding a secondary market for recycled glass may be outweighed by the vast amounts of greenhouse gas produced in the production of standard cement. With nearly a ton and a half of CO2 released in the manufacturing of a single ton of cement, the binder used in these composites is among the planet's most egregious polluters.[citation needed] The Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR), which occurs when glass aggregate is combined with cement, produces production difficulties for recycled glass surfaces that may compromise structural integrity if left unaddressed. Ongoing research at Columbia University and Argonne National Labs has ruled out glass and cement composites as a viable alternative to conventional surface materials, but new technologies are under development which may mitigate the challenges of producing these surfaces.[citation needed] [edit]References