Glass is 100% recyclable and does not lose any quality when broken down, making it the most acceptable material to recycle. Glass does not downcycle unlike other materials, allowing for the same level of quality as the first time it was created.
Growing concerns about the environment are something that has been emphasized to help future generations. With glass made from all natural materials, it can go a long way to make a better environment become a reality.
The benefits of glass packaging are clear: it’s sustainable, being 100% and infinitely recyclable, reusable, and refillable. It’s inert, with no synthetic chemicals, making it safe to store food and drinks in. It’s also a beautiful, iconic material, and consumers love it.
Glass comes from nature
Glass is made from naturally occurring ingredients abundant in nature. The unique alchemy of sand, soda ash, limestone, and recycled glass continue to work its magic to create a wonderful material loved by people over the world. No other material or chemical layers are needed to complete it.
Glass is 100% recyclable and infinitely so
Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly with no loss in quality or purity. Glass recycling is a closed loop system, creating no additional waste or by-products. It is one of the very few examples where the same material can be recycled over and over again without loss of quality.
Glass containers can be reused: they can have up to 50 lives
Glass bottles and jars can also be reused and refilled before being recycled into a new bottle at the end of their lives – making glass the leading reusable option for food and beverage consumers around the world, particularly in local markets. Reusing glass bottles reduces the overall impact and combined with recyclable solutions, it increases the sustainable value of glass many times over.
Glass is good for consumers’ health
Glass is virtually inert and impermeable, making it the most stable of all packaging materials. There is no risk of harmful chemicals getting into the food or drinks that are packed in glass. No additional barriers or additives are needed.
Glass supports a robust EU Circular Economy
The container glass industry services essential EU sectors (including food, beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetics and perfumery) – not just in domestic markets, but as an enabler for the export of high-end products across the world. Moreover, more than 125,000 people work in the glass packaging value chain across Europe.
By 2050 the container glass industry aims to achieve a major revolution in producing glass that is fit for a circular and climate-neutral economy, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals – securing the future of the sector and the jobs that depend on it across the value chain.