Domestic waste glass, also known as cullet, is easy to recycle. The UK currently recycles around 50% of container glass (like bottles and jars). This figure has doubled over the last five years but still lags behind other countries such as Switzerland and Finland, which recycle more than 90% of their glass.

Glass is collected from our kerbside or recycling banks by local authorities or waste management companies.

Once the glass is collected it is then:

• Taken to be reprocessed
• It’s then crushed and contaminants are removed (mechanised colour sorting is usually undertaken at this stage if required)
• It’s now mixed with the raw materials and melted in a furnace
• The melted material is moulded or blown into new bottles or jars

Recycling two bottles saves enough energy to boil enough water for five cups of tea!

The UK business sector still has a lot of work to do to recycle glass – bars, restaurants and pubs currently throw away 600,000 tonnes of glass every year, with most of it ending up in landfill.  However, we as individuals need to remember to recycle more too, especially clear jars like pasta sauce jars and jam jars which are often forgotten.