ALCS - Glass Recycling

Benefits of Glass Recycling: Why Recycle Glass?

Historians of today date objects found in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia from 3000 BC, roughly the time of the Bronze Age, as our first evidence of man-made glass. Recycling glass is very efficient and it is good for the environment. If the glass bottle is thrown away and moved to a landfill, it can take up to a million years (hypothetically) for it to be recycled. Where on the other hand, if we could recycle the glass it won’t take nearly as long to be replaced on the shelf. Glass is 100 percent recyclable and can be used over again and again, with no loss of purity or quality in the glass. Every ton of glass that is recycled saves more than a ton of the raw materials needed to create new glass, which includes 1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash, and 380 pounds of limestone. Using recycled glass will help save energy and also help with the pollution factor. It will save almost 40 percent of energy using “cullets”. Cullets are made from crushing the glass and making a product. They are made at a much lower temperature then when made from raw materials, which allows us to save energy and create less pollution.
Finally, Glass is very simple to recycle and is almost the easiest thing to recycle because all pieces of glass can be broken down and reused. Most every municipal and curbside recycling building will accept glass bottles or glass objects. The chief issue with glass production, and the benefit of recycling it, is the energy needed to run and maintain the huge furnaces, and the energy of transporting the raw materials and the product.

Statistics: straight from article:
A typical glass container is made of as much as 70 percent recycled glass. According to industry estimates, 80 percent of all recycled glass eventually ends up as new glass containers.
Hyperlink:
http://environment.about.com/od/recycling/a/benefits_of_glass_recycling.htm
http://www.recyclingexpert.co.uk/RecyclingGlass.html

Treasure Our Trash

Transcending political correctness, today's innovative designers are turning lackluster recyclables into stylish works of art. The old saying "history repeats itself" has a new meaning. Instead of a caution against making the same mistake twice, it could become a slogan for recycling. In fact, the planet's future may depend on repeating history through recycling, that is, reusing materials either in their original form or transformed. Art and fashion created from recyclable materials, their future use and recycling art exhibitions are discussed.

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SNY1813-0-9280&artno=0000062763&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=glass%20recycling&title=Treasured%20Trash%3A%20The%20Art%20of%20Recycling&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=N

Help Out and Recycle!

The demand for recyclables has not always kept up with the overflowing supplies. State and local governments have improved collection efforts; however, they lack markets for the recovered materials. Factors contributing to this problem are examined. Green glass, post-consumer plastic resins, old newspapers, the recyclables market and current marketplace distortions are discussed.

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SNY1813-0-9280&artno=0000079601&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=glass%20recycling&title=The%20Challenge%20of%20Markets&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=N