O-I Glass Supports 10-Year Plan to Boost Glass Recycling
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality. In fact, about 80% of the glass that is recycled is used to make new glass bottles and jars —in as little as 30 days. As a leading glass producer, O-I Glass is also a leading glass recycler. By recycling glass to make new glass packaging, O-I advances the circular economy and create demand for recycled bottles each day.
Still there is continued room for improvement in glass recycling. O-I has launched several targeted initiatives aimed at growing and improving glass recycling—from providing community grants, to purchasing infrastructure and promoting best practices to improve environmental and economic impacts.
In the last three years, O-I invested approximately $6 million (USD) in glass recycling processing facilities around the world. To ensure progressive end markets for recycled glass, O-I is taking a tailored approach to increase recycled content rates across its enterprise network as rates vary significantly by geography.
O-I has pledged to increase recycled content to 50% average by 2030. Increasing recycled content in the manufacturing process grows demand for end-of-life bottles, improves the environmental footprint and reduces the energy needed to melt the raw materials. In fact, every 10% of recycled glass used in production leads to a five percent reduction in carbon emissions and a three percent reduction in energy use.
O-I has also aligned with other glass recycling processors through multi-year supply contracts ensuring continuity for end markets for curbside glass recycling. O-I also joins with the Glass Packaging Institute, along with the Boston Consulting Group to set a ten-year plan to raise the U.S. glass recycling rate to 50 percent and boost the average use of recycled content.
Through improving recycling and increasing recycled content, O-I continues to design out waste from glass production and reducing pollution to keep recyclable glass in use as recycled content.
Every ton of glass recycled by O-I saves 1,400 pounds of sand, 430 pounds of soda ash and 400 pounds of limestone/dolomite for future generations. Improving recycling is vital to the circularity of glass to further offset the demand for natural resources and leveraging the infinite recyclability of glass. O-I has published their commitment to improve glass recycling on their website at https://www.o-i.com/sustainability/glass-recycling/.
