Glass is infinitely recyclable, which has environmental and economic benefits, and the use of recycled glass results in a higher quality finished product.  However, due to limited curbside glass recycling options, less than a third of all waste glass is recycled in the US, with the rest ending up in landfills - 8.5 million tons each year. 

One ton of recycled glass saves: 

42kWh of electricity
5 gallons of oil
714.3 BTU’s of energy
2 cubic yards of landfill space
7.5 pounds of air pollutants from being released

Yet, curbside glass pickup service is not widely available to residents and businesses.  Our legislators have the power to make a change if they know that the community wants it.

Please add your name to this petition to encourage them to make changes to support hardworking Georgians who are employed in the glass recycling industry and our shared environment.

Why should we recycle glass?

Glass is 100% recyclable.  When new glass products are created, recycled glass or "cullet" can be a replacement for up to 95% of the raw materials needed.  This dramatically reduces energy consumption and emissions of harmful pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, and contaminate our waterways.  Glass is non toxic, and can be recycled infinitely, unlike other materials that degrade quickly, resulting in a lower recycling lifespan.  By diverting glass away from landfills, we provide an invaluable service for the environment, the economy, and future generations.  It takes more than one million years for glass to decompose and every year more than 8.5 million tons end up in landfills according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Recycling glass has many benefits:

More than a ton of natural resources used as raw materials are saved for every ton of cullet used in making new glass products
Homes with fiberglass insulation made from cullet are more energy efficient due to higher insulating properties 
Reduced carbon/greenhouse gas emissions - using 10% cullet in the glassmaking process lowers carbon emissions by approximately 5%
Doesn’t produce byproducts that can contaminate our waterways like other recycling processes   

 

How does glass recycling support Georgia’s economy?

More than 1,200 people in Georgia work in companies producing over $1.1 billion worth of products using recycled glass (source: SERDC.org).  Products from brands like Snapple, Anheuser-Busch, and Owens Corning are made with recycled glass right here in Georgia.  Nationwide, glass recycling is a $5.5 billion dollar industry tied to 18,000 American jobs.  The simple fact is, the more we recycle, the more we grow our economy both locally and across the US.  The opposite is true as well and it isn't unreasonable to assume that sending glass to landfills can put Georgians out of work. 

In the container glass and fiberglass insulation industries, supply of recycled glass can't keep up with the demand, and it is only getting worse.  Currently Georgia's glass manufacturers are forced to import 2,000 tons of recycled glass per month from other states to meet their needs, when they could be sourcing it locally.  Using recycled glass vs raw materials saves energy because the furnaces use less fuel and work more efficiently.  For every 10% of cullet used, energy use drops by 3% because crushed glass melts at a lower temperature than raw materials, which also increases equipment life. 

Sources

www.gwinnettrecycle.com
www.smi.com
www.georgiarecycles.org

Check out https://www.infinityglassrecycling.org for more info,