In 2003, European glass manufacturers remelted 30.051 billion items of glass packaging in their furnaces to make new containers, according to data from the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE).
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In 2003, European glass manufacturers remelted 30.051 billion items of glass packaging in their furnaces to make new containers, according to data from the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE). The FEVE figures for 17 European countries indicate a 4.62% rise in recycling since 2002. Each European recycled on average 67 bottles and jars, three more per person than in 2002. With a total of 8,618 million items, up 36.1 million on the previous year, Germany recycled the most glass containers in 2003. However, the leader in terms of items per person was Switzerland, with an average of 134, followed by France on 109. Apart from Greece, all countries showed significant progress, with the UK, Italy and Spain recording the largest increases on 2002. FEVE is composed of 57 glass packaging companies from 17 European countries which in 2003 sold over 60 billion glass containers.