What is it?
You will see the challenges and solutions for improving glass recycling in the United States and how it covers the inefficiencies of single-stream recycling, benefits of multi-stream systems, and infrastructure limitations specifically for the glass aspect of material economic development. Successful initiatives like Erie County’s glass recycling and the “Don’t Trash Glass” program in Chicago are highlighted. Innovative models connect collectors directly to processors, policy recommendations to reduce landfill rates, and strategies to increase consumer awareness. The goal is to improve glass recycling rates and develop a sustainable system that reduces the amount of glass going to landfills.
What is provided?
- Learn about the higher recycling rates achievable with separate collection.
- Information on the limited number of glass processors and manufacturing facilities.
- Insights into programs that connect collectors directly to processors.
- Strategy to identify and target glass collection hotspots for improved logistics.
A diagram of how glass waste has been managed throughout the years 
The type of glass waste generated in Arizona 
The specific types of glass that are being wasted regularly. Strategic Materials Inc. (SMI), North America’s largest glass recycler processes recycled glass and plastic for use in a wide array of products supplier of quality recycled glass cullet and specialty powders 
Throughout the years glass has been handled very differently as shown: 1960-2018 Data on Glass in MSW by Weight (in thousands of U.S. tons) 
The material economic development page explains the value chain between the different entities of waste 
End Markets that consumer glass
Problem: Collection of Glass Waste
Single-Stream Recycling Issues
- Convenient for consumers as glass, plastic, and paper are combined in one bin, but glass often shatters during collection, leading to contamination, higher sorting costs, and making landfilling glass a cheaper option for recyclers.
Recycling Infrastructure
- There are around 400 MRFs nationwide to sort recyclables, but only 63 glass processing facilities in 30 states and 44 glass manufacturing facilities in 21 states. Due to glass being heavy and bulky, high transportation costs from MRFs to processing facilities often outweigh the savings from using recycled glass.
Multi-Stream Recycling Benefits
- Separates glass, paper, and plastic at collection, bypassing MRFs and achieving higher glass recycling rates (90% vs. 40% in single-stream systems), but incurs higher costs for municipalities due to separate collection processes.
Lack of Transparency
- Consumers often lack awareness of what happens to recyclables after collection, as municipalities have little incentive to report outcomes. Additionally, there is limited visibility into the recycled content of glass products, with labels rarely indicating this information.:
Solution: Collection of Glass Waste
- Connecting glass collectors directly to processors – to avoid single stream recycling via MRFs; to enable processors to consume glass waste directly (GlassKing, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, Recyclops)
- Identify hotspots (breweries, wineries, hospitality) to improve the logistics of glass collection
- Bottles are primarily transferred via trucks. Freight rails are a better option. (Problem: Very opaque industry)
- Policy: A simple limitation/restriction on the amount of glass being landfilled can solve a big part of the problem
- Awareness: As a community, asking questions like “how much of this glass bottle I’m purchasing is coming out of recycled glass?” would encourage reporting of quantitative recycling data
- Utilize the hub-and-spokes model of waste flow to help facilitate collectors