Waste glass

Glass is an ideal material for recycling. It can be melted down any number of times and to obtain new high quality products. Compared with the manufacture of new glass, waste glass recycling helps conserve raw material resources. Using waste glass also reduces energy requirements (by an addition of about 0.2 to 0.3 percent point of waste glass). Thus recycling waste glass is good for the environment. It protects the climate by cutting CO₂ emissions and reduces the landfill space needed for waste. 

Glass is usually recycled to produce receptacles (for example bottles and other containers for drinks and foods). 2.6 million tons were recycled in Germany in 2019. Since the start of waste glass collections in the early 1970s the proportion of waste glass used in glass manufacture has steadily increased until it now stands at up to 90 percent depending on the colour.