Recycling continues in importance regarding ways to protect the environment. Yet few people understand recycling. Especially the recycling process for glass.

Most of the time, when considering recycling people think about paper, plastics, or cardboard. But glass can be recycled as well.

On average, people in the U.S. use items that equate to 82 pounds of glass every year. Unfortunately, only about 26 percent of those pounds go through the recycling process.

Where does the remainder go? Into local landfills. Did you know it can take up to a million years for a glass bottle in a landfill to break down? But a glass bottle placed in a recycling bin can reappear on a local grocer’s shelf as a new container in as little as 30 days!

The recycling process for glass makes 20 percent less air pollution and 50 percent less water pollution than making the original glass. And it saves about 68 percent of the energy required for making the original glass.

Plus, glass products made from recycled glass is just as strong as new glass. However, the recycling process for glass is significant to make sure it doesn’t have impurities and doesn’t break during the processing.

To begin with, the recycling process for glass starts at home. Glass should be rinsed thoroughly and separated from any caps, lids, or bottle rings.

The reason for this is that glass mixing with anything else in the recycling process leads it to be contaminated. This is the reason for a separate bin for recycling glass.

Only bottles and jars should be put into the recycling process for glass. Other glass items such as windows or drinking glasses are made of different materials. Mixing these with glass to be recycled leads to impurities in the glass.

Once the cleaned glass gets to the recycling plant, it is sorted by color. The same colors must be recycled together in order to make the end product as pure and strong as possible.

Next step in the recycling process for glass involves washing the glass again. Following that, crushing begins.

The crushed glass is called cullet. In this form, the product is cheaper than the raw materials required to make glass originally. It also melts at lower temperatures. This saves energy.

Next in the recycling process for glass this cullet is mixed with limestone, soda ash, and sand. This is then melted at 2600 degrees Fahrenheit and poured into molds to make the finished product.

Recycled glass can be made into several products in addition to glass bottles and containers. Fiberglass materials, construction products, and ceramic tiles are just a few of those products.

When you have any glass need, call FEDERAL GLASS AND MIRROR. Mike and John Purpura have a long family history of excellence in many types of glass replacement and installation.