I love glass. Nothing tastes better than a beverage in a glass container. Clear, clean and infinitely recyclable this product completes a perfect cycle. When made, a new glass container is filled with a product and distributed through retail outlets. The product is then purchased by the consumer. The containers when empty are collected through curbside or drop off programs. At this point the glass is recovered and crushed into cullet and used as raw material to make new glass packaging with some virgin materials added as needed to the mix. The raw material is then formed into new glass packaging. Voila, glass bottle to glass bottle. Glass used to manufacture bottles is the only food and beverage packaging material that is endlessly recyclable back to its original use. Glass bottles are made from all-natural resources: sand, soda, ash, limestone and recycled glass. Glass has a 400 year history in the American Marketplace and has been and continues to be a safe container. While many questions and concerns arise about plastic packaging especially when used for food containers the same cannot be said for glass. It is pure and natural. So why don’t we see more of it in the marketplace. One issue is the weight of glass as compared to similar plastic packaging. From the manufacturers standpoint this equates to higher freight cost thus the rise of plastic for packaging liquid. The glass packaging industry continues to look for ways to strengthen glass while at the same time making it lighter. The industry term for this practice is lightweighting. Products packaged in glass have seen the weight reduced by 23% to 33% in the last few years. By reducing the weight of the glass companies save on raw materials and melting cost. This is good for the environment and for the company’s bottom line. Still glass remains both an underappreciated and underutilized type of packaging and unfortunately due to collection techniques by recyclers a material that is not accepted by most recycling companies. In 2013 alone Sedona Recycles collected and processed 858 tons of glass that is 1,716,000 pounds. We can accomplish this by collecting this material separated from all others and brought to the facility in trailers designed just for glass. This has given us the ability to see this amazing material used to remanufacture new bottles with the glass only having to travel to Phoenix to be processed. This lower carbon footprint is just another reason glass is king.
When disposability began being touted as the most convenient way to consume products we lost some great traditions one of which was the use of glass. When many of us were younger our milk was delivered to the door in glass bottles generally fresh from the local dairy plant. In my case growing up in Phoenix this was Shamrock dairy. This practice died out with the advent of plastic and carton packaging and maybe it is just my imagination but I think the milk tasted much better in those days. The great thing about this delivery system was not only was the milk in glass but the bottle was returned washed and refilled no need for a new bottle to be made. Now some would argue this method of delivery is logistically impossible in these times but that is not entirely true. A dairy in Louisville, Kentucky is now delivering milk to their customer’s doorsteps. With the return of local foods this only makes sense. We want our foods fresh and we want to know where they come from. The owner of the dairy interestingly enough is an environmental lawyer but says he has a passion for the family dairy business and buying local which spurred his career change. He thinks that the glass bottle goes naturally with home delivery and adds that glass is the perfect container for milk because it tastes better and it holds temperature better.
Often we are deterred from efforts to return to what was a very workable system from the past. We buy into the fast, easy and disposable lifestyle. When we see efforts like the return of home milk delivery we are reminded that often the best and healthiest methods are those from the past. The return to a more localized economy allows for these methods to flourish. We know from our own experience at Sedona Recycles that the old methods are often the best methods and we take great pride in practicing what we preach. When it comes to glass we are especially proud of our efforts to see this material make a triumphant return. The beauty of glass is plain to see. It is the very best food and beverage delivery system. With glass you can rest assure that your food and beverages are being contained in a natural product that poses no health risk and you are able to recycle the glass locally and see it return to the shelves in six weeks as a new bottle. So raise a glass to glass the best packaging choice for your health and the environment