Glass Facts

• Glass containers are 64% clear, 23% brown, and 13% green.
• 41 billion glass containers were produced in the U.S. in 1992.
• All glass food and beverage containers can be recycled.
• Recycling a glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.
• All newly purchased glass food jars contain at least 35% recycled glass.
• In 1994, approximately 13.3 million tons of glass waste was generated in the U.S. Food and beverage containers made up 91% of this amount: the remainder came from products like cookware and glassware, home furnishings, and plate glass.
• Glass constituted 6.3% of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream in 1994.
• About 25.8% of all glass food and beverage containers were recycled in 1994. Glass had an overall recovery rate of 23.4% that same year.
• Most of the glass recovered in the U.S. is used in new glass containers. A portion is also used in fiberglass and "glasphalt" for highway construction.

Content on this page provided by Second Time Around - EPA Region 5 and Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University.