British Glass responds to environmental damage claims

British Glass has rebutted recent claims made by a Coca-Cola spokesman in Spain that glass could be more damaging to the environment than some other packaging materials. “The simple facts are these: Glass is infinitely recyclable back into new bottles and jars and is extensively recycled” said David Dalton, Chief Executive. “Wherever it comes from – a bottle of wine from Argentina or a jar of marmalade from Oxford - glass can go directly into the local recycling infrastructure.

A used bottle or jam jar is always 100% recyclable. Recycling glass is straightforward, unlike recycling many other packaging materials. A glass bottle is remelted back into a glass bottle. And glass doesn’t deteriorate, no matter how many times it’s recycled.”

Figures from FEVE, the European Glass Container Manufacturers’ Federation, show that the amount of energy used to produce a tonne of glass has halved over the last 40 years. Mr Dalton added: “We call on Government to invest more decisively in infrastructure to help improve the recovery of used glass. We view every gram as a precious resource. We can see a future where glass is manufactured using only renewable energy and previously used glass, so becoming a zero carbon material. But to make this a reality, we need a robust collection infrastructure that is convenient for consumers.”

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