The jars and bottles in our homes are potentially ancient. It is indeed since Roman times that glass recycling has existed: as far back as two thousand years ago, broken fragments of flasks and glasses were collected, remelted and reworked to produce new products of the same high quality. Today we have not forgotten that good habit: on the contrary, we have become even better and more conscientious in putting it into practice.

Think of one of "our" bottles. After being collected, washed, shattered, remelted and moulded, it returns to the shelves in a different form. Perhaps as a jar for tomato sauce, or a new water bottle. And then, once its contents have been consumed, it can re-enter the cycle and be reborn once more. Again and again. It almost recalls Eastern mysticism, but it is already at least partly our reality: that simple bottle, if handled correctly, will never cease to exist, becoming an almost unwitting bridge between past, present and future.

This is because glass recycling is one of the few practices that can be perpetuated indefinitely without any loss of quality. But for this to happen, it is not enough to throw everything that resembles glass into the glass bin. It takes awareness, precision, and an industrial system ready to receive it.

The glass cycle: what happens after collection

Italy is already among the most virtuous countries in Europe when it comes to glass recycling, but we can do even better. More efficient separate waste collection, free of impurities and contamination, means less waste, greater energy savings and a smaller ecological footprint. Understanding how to achieve this is a journey that takes us through the numbers behind this extraordinary process, the best practices for making it even more effective, and the concrete benefits for the environment and society.

After being placed in the correct container, glass begins its journey. It is first sorted at collection centres, where foreign materials are separated out. It is then crushed into small pieces – known as Secondary Raw Material (Materia Prima Seconda, Mps) – and washed. The cleaned glass is then sent to glassworks, where it is melted down and given new life. Using secondary raw material instead of virgin raw materials significantly reduces the energy required for production: consider that replacing just 10 per cent of raw materials with furnace-ready glass leads to a 2.5 per cent saving in melting energy consumption. All of this has a positive impact on consumption, emissions and environmental exploitation.

Italy and glass recycling: the numbers behind a success story

In 2023, Italy recorded excellent results in glass collection and recycling, managed by CoReVe, the national consortium for the collection, recycling and recovery of glass packaging waste produced across the country, operating within the Conai (Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi) system: 77.4 per cent of glass packaging placed on the market was recycled. This figure puts us above the European standards set at 75 per cent for 2030. And it also generates other significant numbers in terms of environmental impact. That 77.4 per cent made it possible to save the equivalent of 2.4 million tonnes of CO₂: to put it in perspective, that is the amount generated in a year by more than 1.5 million small-engine cars each travelling 15,000 km.

Furthermore: 414 million cubic metres of natural gas were saved, equivalent to 2.7 million barrels of oil or the energy needed to cover the annual domestic consumption of a city of 1.2 million inhabitants (almost like Milan…). And finally, 3.9 million tonnes of virgin raw materials were saved, such as sand, soda and carbonate – almost twice the volume of the Colosseum. These figures show that recycling glass correctly is a winning strategy for reducing waste and energy costs, as well as an environmental duty.

From quarries to cities: the impact of virgin glass

The production and transport of virgin raw materials – silica sand, soda, calcium carbonate – have a significant environmental impact. These resources are often extracted from open-cast quarries, which cause erosion, land consumption and loss of biodiversity.

The more recycled glass we use, the fewer quarries we open. A bottle that re-enters the cycle is a quarry that can remain closed. And it also means less heavy traffic, less fossil fuel consumption, fewer indirect emissions.

The 3 rules for quality recycling

All well and good, but how do we do it properly? To make glass recycling even more effective, it is essential to dispose of glass waste in the correct way. Just three simple steps are needed:

1. Separate caps and lids
   Caps must be placed in the appropriate separate waste collection containers.
2. Always remove bags
   Glass should be thrown away without bags or other containers.
3. Watch out for "false friends"
   Not everything that looks like glass can be recycled alongside bottles and jars. Among the trickiest false friends, here is what not to put in the glass bin: crystal; light bulbs, drinking glasses, borosilicate glass (such as oven dishes), mirrors, window panes or car windows, vases and jugs, opaque coloured bottles. These materials have different melting points and can compromise the quality of recycled glass. Separating them correctly is essential for efficient recycling.

A well-functioning glass separate waste collection system brings benefits not only to the environment, but also to the community, because it improves urban decorum, making streets cleaner and reducing the amount of abandoned waste; reduces waste management costs, streamlining the supply chain; and above all contributes to environmental and energy sustainability.

Why choose glass

Having covered how to correctly dispose of glass packaging, taking a step further back the question becomes: what are its benefits and why choose it? The first answer is that glass, as mentioned, is 100 per cent recyclable and infinitely so, and a glass bottle can be recycled and back on the shelves in less than 30 days, perfectly closing the circular economy loop.

And then, especially when the contents are food-related, because glass is a safe and non-toxic material that does not release harmful substances into food and beverages, and preserves products at their best, maintaining their flavour, freshness and quality. For precisely these reasons, CoReVe promotes the campaign "In vetro è meglio" ("Better in glass"), raising awareness among businesses and citizens – especially younger generations who are growing up with greater sensitivity towards caring for the ecosystem around them – about the importance of choosing glass for a more sustainable future: today more than ever, every small gesture counts, and recycling glass correctly and choosing glass packaging are concrete actions towards a cleaner and more sustainable world.

A generational language for sustainability

A special mention goes to Gen Z, made up of people born between 1997 and 2012, who show growing sensitivity towards recycling, materials and the impact of their consumption choices. For this generation, packaging is not just a container, but a message. And glass, by its very nature and values, speaks a language that young people understand: quality, transparency, responsibility. To tap into this growing awareness, CoReVe has developed a series of educational projects in schools, with the aim of fostering informed citizens from the classroom onwards.

The responses seem encouraging: according to recent research commissioned from the Webboh Lab observatory by CoReVe itself, more than 76 per cent of young people aged 14 to 17 are involved in glass recycling, while the majority recognise glass as a sustainable and safe choice for the environment and for food. This is a generation that wants to make a difference, that demands more transparent and responsible solutions from companies, and that regards glass packaging as a conscious choice aligned with its own values. Supporting this momentum with educational projects and clear information is one of the most important – and promising – challenges of our time. One that confirms glass as a "bridge material" towards a more sustainable future.