Malaga Says No to Single-Use Glass

Malaga Says No to Single-Use Glass

The city of Malaga in Spain is saying no to single-use glass. The city council say that almost 50% of the waste generated by the city’s restaurants, hotels, bars, and clubs is made up of glass bottles and containers that are only used once. They’ve teamed up with a non-profit company called Ecovidrio to launch a recycling campaign along the Costa del Sol.

The campaign involves giving 109 establishments recycling containers which will make it easier for them to collect glass. The businesses which recycle the most glass will also won a prize of a master class with the Michelin star chef Quique Dacosta.

Ecovidrio will also provide 26 attractively decorated recycling containers in the hope that residents and tourists will use them.

Why should we recycle glass?

- Glass is 100% recyclable and it can be recycled time and time again with no loss in quality.

- Glass is made from readily-available materials like sand, soda ash, limestone and cullet (recycled glass).

- Using recycled glass reduces emissions and saves raw materials and energy.

How to reduce contamination in glass recycling

Sort glass into separate colours

Manufacturers can only use a limited amount of mixed colour glass to make new products. Separating glass by colour helps manufacturers to meet the colour standards required for glass containers.

If glass is contaminated or even if the pieces are too small, they will not be used to make new bottles and jars. This glass is often used for sandblasting, in concrete pavements, and in tiles.

Glass recycling-the statistics

- Over a tonne of natural resources are saved for every tonne of glass that’s recycled.

- Energy costs drop about 2-3% for every 10% of recycled glass that is used to make new products.

- One less tonne of carbon dioxide is produced for every six tonnes of recycled glass used to make new products.

- About 18% of beverages are consumed in bars, restaurants, or hotels, and around 80% of these beverages are sold in glass containers.

- Glass bottles weigh around 40% less than they did 30 years ago.

- Around 80% of all glass containers collected for recycling are remelted in furnaces and used to make new glass containers.