Glass Recycling

Glass has the potential to be infinitely recycled.

But it needs your help to reach its full potential.

Glass is a heavy material that can cause a lot of issues within the recycling system… this is a part of why so many places have discontinued glass recycling. If you have access to these services in your area, how can you make the most of this amazing resource?

• First and always, REUSING IS BETTER THAN RECYCLING. It takes a lot of energy and water and human action to actually collect glass bottles and jars. A lot of gasoline is also used to transport the materials from collection place to processing place. So it never hurts to say: If you can reuse them, or if you can connect with someone in your community who can use them, this is The Supreme Green.

• Second, in order to RECYCLE it:

  • GLASS MUST BE AN ACCEPTED MATERIAL IN YOUR AREA.

    • Unsure? Type “glass recycling in *your city* into your search bar

  • The glass must be commercially sold food and beverage bottles and jars only. (Why? Food and beverage bottles are federally regulated to make sure there are no other additives like lead.)

  • You do not need to remove labels.

  • The glass bottles and jars must be clean to be recycled. (Note: if it is filled with oil or an oily substance, it MUST be clean before entering the single stream recycling as it will contaminate the PAPER and CARDBOARD in the same system.)

  • You can leave the lid attached to your jar, even if it is made of a different material. (But in the opinion of The Green Assistant, if you regularly visit the recycling center, it could be better to separate metal lids and recycle them in the scrap metal recycling drop.)

  • If you have more than will fit into the recycling bin, you can take it to a drop point.

    • Charlotte has special yellow collection bins at their full service recycling centers where you can drop your bottles and jars. (No corks, no lids, no food waste.) This gets sold directly to the glass recyclers, so make sure it is only the good goods.