Bottles destined for recycling

"5 out of 6 glass bottles are thrown into the bin and are not recycled"

Pile of cullet (crushed glass)

"Glass can be used repeatedly with no loss of quality"

Beading reflective glass used for road markings

Fibreglass loft insulation

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Our Glass Collection Service

We will provide you with whichever size of container best suits your needs and space restrictions. We operate a collection service 7 days a week, and will visit you as often as you like.

If you would like us to contact you to tell you more about the service we provide, fill in our contact form and we will respond to you shortly:  Contact Form

Alternatively, email us by clicking the following link: query@recycling-solutions.co.uk

The recycling of glass bottles was one of the first and most effective forms of recycling that has occurred since people became aware of the need to protect our environment. Making virgin glass requires the quarrying of raw materials in the countryside, and the heating of raw materials at extremely high temperatures. The melting of recycled glass requires lower temperatures, and does not require raw ingredients, thus saving energy and preventing areas of the country from being dug up. Glass can be used repeatedly with no loss of quality.

Most food and beverage containers can be recycled. These include food containers, beer bottles, wine and liquor bottles and juice containers.

Glass products such as light bulbs and window panes cannot be recycled. This is because they differ in melting temperatures and also in chemical composition. They can cause defects in new containers if mixed with other glass.

The Recycling Process

The glass must first be sorted according to colour. This can either be done prior to collection, or is done at factories. At recycled glass processing factories, bottles are crushed and cleaned, and any non-glass contaminants are thrown out. Crushed glass is called cullet.

The cullet can be used as a raw material substitute and melted in furnaces with new ingredients (soda ash, limestone and sand) to create "new" glass that can be made into bottles and jars.

Or the cullet can be used in the production of various products that require a lower quality, for example:

• windows
• beading reflective glass - lines on roads
• road base construction
• pipe backfill and storm drains
• asphalt called "glasphalt"
• sandblasting abrasive
• fiberglass insulation in lofts
• frictionators - for lighting matches in match boxes, and firing ammunition

The number of products that can be made from recycled glass may surprise you! Recycled goods are all around us, and provide replacements of a quality as good as that of 'new' materials.