4330 Kingsway, Burnaby, B.C. V5H 4G8

Demand Side Management Telephone: (604) 432-6375 Fax: (604) 436-6811 Website: www.gvrd.bc.ca

WHAT IS IT? WHERE CAN YOU RECYCLE GLASS? QUICK Glass is made out of silica sand, soda ash and limestone, and Different types of glass are recycled through different programs. FACTS has many diverse uses. It can be shaped into to Glass beverage containers are recycled when returned for 1 recycled protect food and beverages, or it can be made into fibreglass or deposit refund. Other glass containers (e.g. ) are accepted in glass saves enough energy to light windows. It is transparent, inert and non-toxic. Glass comes in municipal programs. can be replaced and a 100 watt bulb for four colours: flint (clear), amber (brown), green and light blue. recycled by the manufacturer. Be sure to read signs carefully at four hours. Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled many times your local depot to ensure you are recycling acceptable glass. 32% of a without changing its composition or quality. glass container is post-consumer recycled glass. The technology exists to use up to 85% recycled glass!

Since 1980 the average weight of a glass container has been reduced by 10%.

GLASS CONTAINERS 1 million years Collection is how long glass Glass is takes to break down Packed & Shipped collected and naturally. New containers are taken to filled and returned to processor. grocer’s shelf. 8 – 12 weeks is how long it takes Sorted by Colour for a glass container to The Life Glass is sorted, be recycled and cleaned of returned to the store contaminants and shelf. Cooled of a broken. Containers are cooled slowly to increase 82% of glass strength. Glass containers consumed Crushed into Cullet in Canada every year Broken glass is crushed are reused or recycled. Container into tiny pieces called cullet. Molded Molten glass is 1 coffee mug poured into molds. in a truckload of glass is enough to Cullet + Raw Resources contaminate the load Melted Cullet is mixed with silica and cause it to be Mixture is melted to sand, soda ash and rejected from molten state in furnace. limestone. recycling.

1 beer is refilled an average of 15 times.

WHAT GLASS CAN BE RECYCLED? WHAT ARE THE MARKETS?

Different types of glass can be recycled, but only container glass The main markets for cullet are manufacturers of recycled glass can be turned into furnace-ready cullet – and only container containers. Most of the glass that is recycled is turned into new glass is accepted in municipal curbside recycling programs. All or jars. Recycling Web Sites types of glass have different chemical make-ups that alter their capability to be recycled. The success of There are other uses for glass. Glass is an excellent source of Recycling www.rcbc.bc.ca depends on good quality glass coming back for processing – free aggregate fill for construction sites or roads, because it is www.gvrd.bc.ca www.encorpinc.com from contamination. relatively inexpensive, provides good drainage capacity and is www.env.gov.bc.ca inert. Glass can also be used to make fibreglass or used as a www.etlcanada.com

WHERE DO WE FIND GLASS CONTAINERS? sand blasting material. Glass containers are used for all types of food and beverages.

When glass is shaped into jars or bottles, it will keep food Revenues for clean glass (flint, amber or green) range according preserved. Different colours of glass have different qualities. For to quality. Mixed and broken glass is marketed at a cost Sources example, brown glass absorbs ultraviolet rays and thus protects according to quantity and quality. ETL Recycling Services pharmaceutical products and extends the life of beer. Inc.

Consumers Glass Tips………………….. Care and be Careful WHAT CONTAMINATES GLASS? video Contamination alters the chemistry of the glass recycling Glass Containers video REDUCE process. Even the smallest amount of contamination will weaken Look for narrow neck bottles when shopping. The shape of the the final product. Contaminants include: neck can reduce the amount of packaging used in a bottle by as • ceramics (dinner plates, coffee mugs) much as 33%. The container is of the same quality as wider neck • window glass & mirrors RECYCLING varieties, but less material is used. QUESTIONS? • plastic, tin, aluminum /tabs call the RCBC • pyrex glass Recycling Hotline REUSE at 604-732-9253 • wired glass or 1 800 667-4321 Reuse jars for storage. Keep nails, elastics, jams or candy in jars • crystal & drinking collected from your kitchen. Baby food jars are terrific for threads, • light bulbs or tubes. buttons and needles. Other Just the Facts available: Aluminum WHERE IS GLASS PROCESSED? Use glass containers for candle holders. Take a jam and Composting Corrugated Cardboard Glass is collected from municipal recycling programs (blue decorate it with acrylic paint, and use a tea light candle for a Grasscycling Newspaper and depots), bottle return centres and liquor stores. Containers stained glass look. Plastics are taken to a glass processor to be turned into furnace-ready SWMP 2000 cullet. The processor sells the cullet to the manufacturer. The RECYCLE To obtain, go to manufacturer mixes cullet with raw resources and creates new www.gvrd.bc.ca Return glass beverage containers for recycling. Leave on. or call glass containers to be sold as packaging. Rinse containers and remove lids and caps. 604-432-6200.

ETL Recycling Services Inc. is a glass processor in Delta, B.C. RETURN Consumers Glass operates a manufacturing plant in Lavington, Consumers pay a deposit on all glass beverage containers in B.C. Sterling Glass Foundry in Victoria, B.C., recycles more than B.C. Shoppers should return bottles for a refund. Your local a quarter of a million kilograms of window glass each year. Return-It Centre, Liquor Distribution Branch, bottle depot or

retailer will accept your returns. Updated Feb. 2004