Bottle-to-Bottle recycling in the container glass industry

One of the Hot Topics at glasstec 2024 is the Circular Economy – a highly relevant and forward-looking topic for the glass industry as a whole. One of its sectors is already far advanced: Bottle-to-Bottle recycling in the container glass industry.

Circular economy has already been among the top themes in the glass industry for years – and, hence, also at the world-leading trade fair glasstec. The material that is glass holds plenty of potential when it comes to recyclability as part of a sustainable circular economy. There are many opportunities for reducing energy and resource consumption as well as increasing reuse rates across the glass value chain. One sector that has already been working intensely on perfecting the circular economy for many years is the container glass industry. The benefits are obvious: more circular economy means less raw materials used, less greenhouse gas emissions and more climate and resource protection. Using bottle-to-bottle recycling as an example for glass packaging we show you how this can work.

The international recycling concept of the container glass industry

Glass is 100% and endlessly recyclable as a packaging material. This high reusability holds a very high potential for the circular economy because used glass packaging can be made into new glass packaging time and again. Important to this end, however, is that glass packaging reaches recycling collection points – and ideally in such a way that all of the cullet can be used. Many countries already have fully operational collection systems for glass packaging: consumers buy their food, beverages, drugs or cosmetics in glass containers, consume the products and then take the empty glass containers to a collection point such as a kerbside (waste glass) bin. Subsequently, the cullet is sorted, reclaimed and made available for the production of new glass packaging.

However, reusability largely depends on the waste glass quality. It has to be sorted properly after use – by colour, for example – to be reusable for new products. The use of approximately 10% of cullet for the production of new glass packaging already reduces the energy required for melting by approx. 3%. This means considerable energy and, hence, also CO2 savings.

“Close the Glass Loop” – a meaningful initiative on the European level

In 2020 the Close the Glass Loop initiative was called into being, which links the entire European value chain for glass packaging and is designed to promote bottle-to-bottle recycling. The platform connects all the players involved in the glass cycle: twelve European associations, glass producers and finishers, bottlers, brands, retailers, dual systems as well as local authorities. Together, they aim to raise the glass collection ratio in Europe to 90% by 2030. In 2021 this percentage stood at some 80% – there are no more up-to-date figures available (correct as of: 2024).

“Separate collection is the most important step to increase glass recycling and 17 EU countries are on track to meet their 2025 recycling targets. However, the European Commission also recently identified 10 Member States at risk of not meeting their targets. This confirms the importance of Close the Glass Loop to strengthen collaboration along the glass packaging value chain to improve collection infrastructure, recycling processes and consumer communications. There is still a way to go to ensure that 90% of glass packaging is collected to be recycled by 2030 all across Europe and we must further trigger mobilisation of Close the Glass Loop actions on national level”, says Adeline Farrelly, Secretary General of the European Container Glass Federation FEVE on behalf of Close the Glass Loop partners. (Source: https://feve.org/eu-glass-value-chain-80-collection-rate/)

Two countries that already boast good glass recycling ratios – Sweden and Germany

Sweden is known for its progressive recycling and waste management systems and considered a role model for countries in glass recycling. The country strongly invests in the development of renewable energies and sustainable technologies. Sweden has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045. For collecting and recycling container glass the country has a very dense infrastructure of 5,000 collection points that are well accepted. Even today, the glass recycling ratio in Sweden is well over 90% (Source: Swedish Glass Recycling/Svensk Glasåtervinning AB).

In Germany container glass is also manufactured, collected and recycled in a fully operational cycle. The country boasts a well-established infrastructure. In Germany on average 84 out of 100 glass packaging units are recycled; there are some 250,000 collection points (containers) across all of Germany. This makes it possible for new glass packaging to contain about 60% of cullet, with green containers this percentage is even as high as 90%. There are various initiatives to improve cullet quality: The national “Initiative der Glasrecycler” educates consumers about proper glass recycling and provides them with helpful advice through its campaign ”Was passt ins Altglas” (what should go into the waste glass bin).