How Does
The Glass Recycling Process
Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
Introduction
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Recycling is great for the environment. In fact, by recycling the world can save thousands of trees from being cut down, and also decrease the amount of harmful chemicals that must produced in order to manufacture plastics. The most common type of recycling in the United States is paper and plastics. However, glass recycling is becoming more available as more people learn about just how simple it is to recycle your glass bottles.
Collecting the Glass
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The first step in the glass recycling process is for the glass to be picked up from a recycling container. These containers may be at home, work, or at a local recycling center. After the glass has been collected, it is sent to a larger recycling center, where it is sorted by color and then cleaned. This process is very important because labels, caps, and other debris can be stuck to the bottle and must be removed before the bottles can be melted down. Once the glass pieces have been crushed, they are then sorted and broken down further. This is done to ensure that they are all together in the same size and color, which makes it easier to combine them into one piece of glass.
Sorting the Glass
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Certain types of glass cannot be recycled. These materials include light bulbs and windows. While this may seem strange, it is actually to keep any foreign debris out of the recycled glass. Most windows and light bulbs have chemicals and other impurities that cannot be easily removed when most glass is cleaned and sorted, making it difficult to recycle them. When trying to help the environment, make sure to remove any caps, labels, or other debris from your glass bottles. This saves valuable time and energy from having to be exerted at the recycling collection center.
Melting the Glass
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Another great benefit to using recycled materials instead of raw materials when making glass is that the recycled materials melt at a lower core temperature. This saves plants from having to use a higher amount of energy, which would eventually put more pollution back into the environment. Once the glass has been heated up, it is then melted down to a molten state and then reformed into new glass bottles and jars. Currently, only 25 percent of the glass in the United States contains any parts of recycled glass. Recycled glass is perfectly safe and poses no safety risk to people who consume products from a recycled glass container.
Summary
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Glass is first collected, then cleaned, and then crushed into small pieces. Glass may then be cleaned and crushed again in order to ensure quality and cleanliness. Following these steps the glass is then melted down and finally made into new glass products that save both energy and pollution from the environment.
eHow Article: The Glass Recycling Process
