We use many different types of glass in the UK, but at home we mostly use ‘soda-lime-silica’ glass for containers like bottles and jars. It is important not to mix up the different types of glass as they are re-processed differently.

Different types of glass include:

• Borosilicate glass – used for heat-resistant cooking equipment like Pyrex
• Lead glass – for sparkling decorative glassware
• Glass fibre –for insulation and fibre optic cable

These different types of glass are not widely recycled so do not add these into your kerbside collection container or bottle banks at the recycling centre.

During the glass manufacturing process, extra raw materials can be added to give the glass a particular colour or special qualities.

The extra raw materials that can be added are:

• Iron for a brown or green colour
• Cobalt for blue
• Alumina for durability
• Boron to improve resistance to heat or cold