The Recycling Process for Glass from Start to Finish

The recycling process for glass starts with us. It is up to us to collect the glass to be picked up at your curbside. Most cities do have a recycling center that are contracted to pick up your household glass bottles and jars. It is up to us to know what kinds of glass that is accepted by the recycling center, because not all contractors are set up for other types of glass, such as laminated glass, or window pane glass.

The recycling process for glass is done in a certain order. The glass that we collect has to be separated into colors, because the colors are part of the glass and if mixed with clear or other colors the chemical composition of the glass will be changes as will the purity. Before placing the used bottle or jar into the recycling bin it should be washed or rinsed out first. Not only does rinsing make it easier on the recycling process for glass, but it also makes your house smell better if you are collecting the glass inside.

It is true that some people will pay the deposit and not return the bottles for a refund. Unredeemed deposits are either kept by the bottling company as or they are turned over to a state-managed fund. For instance, California, Michigan and Massachusetts will keep the deposits that were never redeemed, because the deposits are considered abandoned property. The money is yours if you paid the deposit, so unless you want to give it to the state or the bottling company as abandoned property, you should bring back your bottles and collect your refund. Besides getting your money back you will be helping out the environment.

The recycling process for glass once the glass has reached the recycling center starts with sorting. A large magnet is passed over the recycled glass to remove any steel, wire and iron based metals. The sorting goes on to remove any bricks, stones, and ceramics by going through a machine designed to remove any impurities from the recyclate. Nothing takes the place of the human eye, so people and machinery are part of the recycling process for glass.

Once the sorting is done the process starts with a good washing. The glass is washed to remove any impurities, because when glass cullet is melted to make new glass the impurities will melt into the glass, making it impure. After washing the glass is then fed through a crusher that grinds the glass into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces are further crushed so that the glass looks like pea sized pieces of gravel called aggregate. Aggregate is sold into many manufacturing companies, and it is used in the construction business to make concrete. The recycling process for glass is a cycle that starts and ends with you.