Recycling GlassRecycling glass is easy. For this discussion, we are talking about normal household waste. Glass bottles and jars only come in two varieties, clear and colored. The hardest part is finding out what your local recycler takes, and how they want it. This information should be readily available either by phone, website or a visit to your recycling center. The norm is both colored and clear glass in the same bin. Sometimes recyclers want it separated. The worse case scenario is recyclers that only take clear glass (more on this later). All glass needs to be free from food residue or other dirt. I usually give them a good rinse when they are emptied and then just throw them in the dish sink or dishwasher with the rest of the dishes. They are now ready to go to the recycler. I store my glass items with my plastic and cans. They do go in separate bins at the recycler; I just work around the glass items until I have all the plastic and cans in their bin and take the glass to its bin. Wow, bet you never knew recycling glass could be so easy.
If Your Recycler Won’t Take Colored GlassSome recyclers do not want colored glass. This can be a problem if you have wine bottles or any colored bottles for that matter. Here are some solutions for recycling glass that we came up with when our recycling center would not take them. Find someone who makes wine or beer. They usually will take bottles, unless they are totally overrun. On the plus side, they may offer you some homemade wine or beer in exchange. This is really a win, win situation. Find an artist that works with glass. You probably will not get any free artwork, but it is nice to help someone out.
A few Additional Thoughts on Glass RecyclingAs with any recyclable, it requires less energy to reuse than to recycle. Remember Mason jars? They are always reused, in fact made to be reused. Always ask yourself “Can I reuse this?” We reused large (food service size) glass pickle jars to build worm farms with our 4-H Fishing Club. I came across a big box full of the jars at a yard sale. At the time, I didn’t know what I was going to do with them, but the guy running the sale said I could have them if I could use them. They did hang out in the craft closet for a while, but I eventually found a use for them. The ones I didn’t use eventually made it to the recycle bin. Recycling glass is an easy way for all of us to help the environment.
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