Why Glass Recycling is so Important
Today the energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours or a compact fluorescent bulb for 20 hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.
Why now?
Now is the time. I saw a sign at a garden nursery that said, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” The same can be said for recycling–the best time was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today!
Today our landfills are overflowing
The average person throws away 4.5 pounds of glass each day. Do the math
Each month we throw away enough glass jars and bottles to fill a giant skyscraper.
Today the glass bottle we toss in the trash will still be there 1 million years from now.
Today glass can be recycled infinitely with no loss of quality – in effect, melting glass to make new glass is the same as melting sand. That means fewer natural resources are taken from the environment.
Ways the recycled glass is used:
Sandblasting
Golf course & Sand traps
Landscaping
Mulch
Ice control & Sand replacement
Sandbags
Road construction & glasspalt
Construction drainage
Swimming pools
Construction pipe installation
Stepping Stones
Wall blocks
Fiberglass
Marbles
Eco-glass
Glass beads
Glass jewelry
Glass art
Pressed glass
Marblite
Terrazzo flooring
Crushed glass countertops
Roof tile
Sand pottery