This Summer I plan on spending some time teaching my children more details about recycling and why we do it. We are big recyclers here because it’s FREE and I can’t turn down something that’s not only free, but good for the Earth. People toss away enough glass every month to fill a skyscraper, when we could could actually reuse those bottles and jars and recycle them.
When glass is recycled it is broken down into little bits, melted and mixed with new glass. Recycling glass also saves energy for making new glass. Here’s a fact: the energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can light a 100 watt light bulb for four hours!
What is glass made from?
SAND! That’s right! Trucks of sand are brought to a factory and the sand is mixed in a furnace with soda, lime, and cullet ( which is recycled glass.) It then becomes molten glass, which turns hard when cooled. People have been making glass for over 3000 years. It was at one time considered precious, now people think of it as garbage.
What can you do?
Recycle- it’s as simple as that. Bring back your bottles to the store and get your nickels, if you can’t be bothered to wait to use the machines give them to someone. I’m sure they would appreciate it. Set up an area where your children can recycle and teach them what can be saved and what can’t. Clean jars and bottles and remove any caps, lids, etc. If you see bottles/glass on the ground pick them up and bring them home to recycle.