Glass can be recycled endlessly by crushing, blending, and melting it together with sand and other starting materials. Doing so benefits manufacturers, the environment, and consumers. Yet each year only one-third of the roughly 10 million metric tons of glass that Americans throw away is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills. In contrast, some European countries recycle more than 90% of their waste glass. US glass-industry trade groups are working with manufacturers and government agencies to boost the numbers. These efforts begin with a top-to-bottom analysis of glass recycling to identify areas for improvement.
