Facts About Glass Recycling

  • Glass makes up about 9% of all the rubbish we throw away.
  • Glass bottles were originally made by hand-blowing them into different shapes. They have only been made by machines for the last hundred years or so.
  • The largest furnaces used to make glass can produce more than 400 tonnes of glass a day – that’s more than one million bottles and jars each day!
  • One bottle bank can hold up to 3,000 bottles before it needs to be emptied.
  • Glass bottles were originally made by hand-blowing them into different shapes. They have only been made by machines for the last hundred years or so.
  • On average, every family in the UK consumes around 500 glass bottles and jars every year – at the moment we recycle about 25% of these items.
  • Bottle banks appeared for the first time in the UK in 1977. There are now over 22,000 glass bottle banks around the nation.
  • Around 2 million tonnes of glass is produced each year in the UK. (There are approximately 3000 bottles and jars in a tonne.)
  • The largest furnaces used to make glass can produce more than 400 tonnes of glass a day – that’s more than one million bottles and jars each day!
  • The average glass bottle contains over 25% recycled glass.
  • Green glass bottles made in the UK contain at least 60%, and sometimes as much as 90%, recycled glass.
  • Glass bottles are up to 30% lighter today than they were ten years ago – this saves energy and raw materials.

Scroll to Top