Industry

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How Many times Can a Glass Bottle Be Reused?

Is there a limit to the number of times a glass bottle can be recycled? Yes and no. Most glass bottles can be recycled over and over without a loss in quality or purity. The ingredients are typically sand, soda ash and limestone -- the recycling industry calls this furnace-ready glass "cullet" -- and the bottles are heated to about 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit and molded into whatever shape is needed.

But a lot more recycling can be done, since only about 40% of beer and soft drink bottles are taken to recyclers each year. The numbers are even lower for wine and liquor bottles (only about 34% are returned) and other food-related bottles and jars (just about a 15% return rate). Other kinds of glass -- windows, ovenware, crystal, etc. -- cannot be added to the recycling mix because they will produce defective containers.

More on glass recycling:

Color sorting does make a difference. Green, clear and brown bottles must be separated before being re-manufactured so industry color standards can be met.
If there are too many contaminants in the glass, it can be reused in other ways, ending up in tile, filtration fabrics, sand blasting and pavements.
Curbside collection can bring in large amounts of glass recyclables, but drop-off stations and commercial programs tend to recover higher quality containers.