Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
In the U.S., we only recycle about a third of the glass that we use, and states like Rhode Island don’t recycle any glass. But in some European countries, the average recycling rate for glass is about 80 percent. Why are our rates so low?
We had Leo Nachamie and Nat Hardy from our Possibly Team look into this question.
Leo Nachamie: Hey, Megan!
Nat Hardy: Hi!
Megan Hall: So, what’s the problem with our glass recycling system?
Leo Nachamie: Well, before we start, it’s important to know there are a lot of factors that go into whether glass is recycled or not.
Nat Hardy: And what it comes down to is that in our current system, it’s often cheaper to use raw materials instead of recycled glass.
Megan Hall: How come?
Leo Nachamie: One reason is that glass is difficult to transport. It’s heavy, and in rural areas, the distance between a recycling facility and a glass factory can be really far.
Nat Hardy: And if shipping prices are high, it’s hard for recycled glass suppliers to compete with the people that sell the raw materials for glass.
Megan Hall: Are there other costs associated with using recycled glass?
Nat Hardy: Well, when glass gets recycled, it isn’t all the same. There are different colors and thicknesses, and some of it is really dirty.
Leo Nachamie: And when you recycle glass, all of those factors really matter. Some glass is so low quality, it can only be used for things like insulation.
Megan Hall: Wow, it seems like there really isn’t a huge market for glass recycling.
Leo Nachamie: In more rural areas, that can totally be the case. But, when people use glass and put it into recycling bins near glass factories, the recycling process goes pretty smoothly.
Nat Hardy: And, there is an incentive for glass factories to recycle glass.
Megan Hall: What is it?
Nat Hardy: Since used glass has already gone through the initial melting process, it melts at lower temperatures than raw materials.
Leo Nachamie: So the more used glass you throw into a glass mix, the lower the furnaces need to run.
Nat Hardy: This means manufacturers use less energy, which saves them money and creates less emissions. It also causes less wear and tear on their melting furnaces.
Leo Nachamie: And using recycled glass offers another environmental win. When you melt raw materials to make glass, some of the ingredients create carbon pollution. Using more recycled glass means less of that!
Megan Hall: Okay, so using recycled glass helps manufacturers and the environment, but the cost of transporting it and the problems with quality control can discourage factories from using it.. How can we work around those drawbacks?
Leo Nachamie: To answer this, we spoke to Collin Wilkinson, an assistant professor of glass science and engineering at Alfred University.
Collin Wilkinson: One of the challenges with this is that there is no answer that fits everybody. It is really a local problem, local solution that we need to be looking for.
Nat Hardy: Different solutions might work better for different states.
Colin Wilkinson: In New York state, we have plenty of glass manufacturers who are willing to consume the glass if we can get it to them, right? So maybe in New York state, it makes a lot of sense to incentivize shipping whenever possible.
Leo Nachamie: But in a state like Rhode Island, where there’s no one to buy used glass, it might be better to invest in a local facility to turn it into something other than bottles, like roadbed or foam glass insulation.
Megan Hall: Okay, so it seems like there are a lot of great steps we can take locally to increase our recycling rate. How does policy come into this?
Leo Nachamie: Well, some states have bottle bills, which encourage people to recycle their glass by providing a cash incentive.
Nat Hardy: And states like California have laws that require a certain amount of glass products to be made from recycled materials.
Leo Nachamie: California also just passed a law to subsidize glass manufacturers who use recycled materials.
Nat Hardy: In general, there are two ways to encourage glass recycling. The carrot, like paying people to recycle, or the stick, like fining people for not.
Leo: We just have to create systems that make the most sense for each community.
Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Leo and Nat!
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the ways your choices affect our planet, at ask possibly dot org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on social media at “ask possibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and Ocean State Media.
