Can glass be recycled?
Yet another thing to consider is most glass isn’t actually recycled. In fact, only 33 percent of waste glass is recycled in America.
When you consider 10 million metric tons of glass is disposed of every year in America, that’s not a very high recycling rate. But why is recycling so low? Here are a few reasons:
There are many reasons glass recycling is so low: Glass put into the recycling bin is used as a cheap landfill cover to keep costs low.
Consumers participating in “wish-cycling” where they toss non-recyclables into the recycling bin and contaminate the entire bin.
Colored glass can only be recycled and melted down with like-colors.
Windows and Pyrex bakeware are not recyclable because of the way it’s manufactured to withstand high temperatures.
