Go Green: How to Recycle Glass

The philosophy of the "go green" mantra is to reuse and recycle. From common materials like cloth and paper to electronics, you can responsibly discard old and unwanted items without causing environmental hazards or sending them to landfills. Materials in landfills decompose gradually and leak toxic materials into the soil, water and air.

When it comes to recycling household goods, glass and glassware items can be responsibly recycled. Glass comes in the form of beverage bottles and food containers, bulbs, mirrors, windows, etc. When recycled, most of the recovered materials can be reused to make glass - this process also produces less green house gases like carbon dioxide than the process of making glass from scratch. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has guidelines and information on how to go green with recycling glass.

Each type of glass has a different recycling procedure. Here is what you must know on how to recycle glass.

• Many states and local counties have programs to recycle glass. Typically they accept your glass beverage bottles and jars. You can also drop off the metal and plastic lids for recycling. You may have recycle bins located in your apartment complex or locality or there may be curbside pickups. Contact your county for more information about drop off and collection schedules. For example, Montgomery County in Maryland has detailed information about their recycling program online.

• There may be requirements on the types of glass items accepted in your county sponsored glass recycling programs. For example, only colorless, green and brown bottles may be recycled. You will be expected to lightly rinse and remove residue from your bottles, separate them based on their color and drop them in appropriate bins. Some types of glass like pyrex and mirrors cannot be recycled along with the glass bottles as they have contaminants which can make the recycled glass brittle or hazardous for storing food - your county program may indicate this and direct you to pack the glass safely in a cover or bag and discard it with regular trash.

• Glass bulbs and fluorescent tubes contain hazardous materials like mercury. But they can be recycled. Check with your county programs for a drop off schedule. Many stores like Home Depot also allow you to dispose bulbs through their recycling programs.

Recycling glass is very easy. The only thing you need to do is to remember to segregate your daily wastes. Separate your garbage into different types of wastes - keep aside a trash can for glass wastes. A little practice and awareness will help you stick to this rule and go green.