Glass Bottle Makers Commit to Increased Recycled Content

Every new bottle and jar made by members of the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) will be made up of 50 percent recycled glass by 2013.

The ten member companies of the GPI, a trade association for North American glass container makers, have agreed to that goal and plan to increase recycling efforts to provide enough recycled content.

The GPI said it will increase it support for legislative and regulatory measure it feels will improve recycling systems and provide more and good quality recyclables.

The group is supportive of curbside recycling, bottle deposit programs and on-site recycling at bars, restaurants and hotels.

In the U.S., the recycling rate for glass, an almost infinitely recyclable material, has gone from 25.3 percent in 2006 to 28.1 percent in 2007, according to the EPA. The rate for beer and soda glass bottles went from 30.7 percent to 34.5 percent. The rate for wine and liquor bottle stayed at 15 percent. States with deposit programs or specific glass recycling initiatives have seen higher recycling rates that states without similar measures.

The member companies of the GPI are Anchor Glass Container Corporation, Cameron Family Glass Packaging, Gallo Glass, Kelman Bottles, Leone Industries, Longhorn Glass Corporation, Owens-Illinois, Rocky Mountain Bottle Company, Saint-Gobain Containers and Vitro Packaging.