Over 14 tons of glass collected during Recycle Glass Week

The Glass Packaging Institute’s (GPI) 2009 Recycle Glass Week proved a success, with glass container manufacturers, including Anchor Glass, O-I, Rocky Mountain Bottle Company (RMBC), and Saint-Gobain Containers, Inc., collecting over 14 tons of glass bottles, and counting, for recycling, through events at their plants and in local communities. The energy saved from the recycled glass collected is equivalent to planting 128 trees.

In all, over 50 educational activities and public events in 22 states were held during the week, building awareness for glass bottle recycling across the United States. Two events, in Colorado and Indiana, also lead to permanent collection locations for glass container recycling.

Doubling the United States glass container recycling rate (28 percent in 2007) would allow manufacturers to use 50 percent recycled glass to make new glass containers, saving enough energy to power 21,978 homes for one year and removing 181,550 tons of waste from landfills every month.

During Recycle Glass Week, GPI also recognized seven ‘Friends of Glass,’ honoring those making significant and innovative efforts to promote or participate in glass container recycling.