Glass: A Popular Sustainability Solution

While plastic bottles are everywhere, there is still an interest in using glass containers to hold everything from soda to pickles. While it might seem quaint or old-fashioned (as well as more fragile than modern-day plastic containers), glass still has a lot of advantages over plastic. One of them is that glass recycling is something that can save companies money, time, and energy indefinitely. In a world where sustainability is a primary concern both for businesses as well as for people buying a product its no wonder that glass is still up and fighting for its place on the shelf.

The Benefits of Glass Recycling

Glass bottles and jars are like phoenixes; they can always be made new again through the proper application of fire. A new glass bottle can be made with sand, lime, and soda, and when it’s served its purpose be washed out and tossed in a recycling bin. The bottle will then be ground down into cullet, re-melted, and made into a new bottle. That bottle can be used for the same kind of drink too, unlike lots of food-grade plastics which can’t be used for food again.

Less Energy & Less Emissions

In addition to its near-immortality, recycled glass uses fewer resources. According to this source every metric ton of glass that’s recycled saves 315 kilograms of carbon dioxide that would be released into the atmosphere from making new glass instead.

Better for the Bottom Line

The process of reducing recycled glass to cullet is just less costly in terms of energy than making new glass. This why so many companies who are trying to be more green are taking a hard look at glass. While it might not hold up well to being dropped on a concrete floor, the same stock can be used and re-used over and over at a lower cost. That’s good for the environment as well as for a company’s bottom line.

Glass might not be the newest development in packaging; to some people glass is decidedly old school. But sometimes the best option is the one that’s been tried and tested in the field, and which you know will get the job done time and time again.