End-markets for collected glass

End-markets for collected glass

Different methods for collecting recyclable materials result in different degrees of quality in the collected materials. Research for the 2009 report on single-stream recycling showed that only 40% of glass from single-stream collection is recycled into containers and fiberglass. Forty percent of glass winds up in landfills, while 20% is small broken glass ("glass fines") used for low-end applications. In contrast, mixed glass from dual-stream systems yields an average of 90% being recycled into containers and fiberglass, with 10% glass fines used for low-end applications, and nearly nothing sent to landfill. In container-deposit systems, color-sorted material results in 98% being recycled and only 2% marketed as glass fines.

Bar chart showing the percentages listed above

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