The Glass Packaging Institute is launching “Recycle Glass Day” on 10 December 2008, which will become an annual event to help build national awareness about the benefits of glass container recycling f…
The Glass Packaging Institute is launching “Recycle Glass Day” on 10 December 2008, which will become an annual event to help build national awareness about the benefits of glass container recycling for the environment. In this first year of Recycle Glass Day, GPI is sponsoring a YouTube video competition for eligible university students to encourage people to commit to recycle glass containers. “By recycling glass jars and bottles in your community, you are making a positive impact on the environment,” says Glass Packaging Institute president, Joseph Cattaneo. “Glass is 100% pure and 100% recyclable in a closed loop system. While we encourage recycling all forms of packaging, recycling glass containers is one way you can greatly help reduce the amount of waste entering landfills, save energy, and reduce your carbon footprint.” Creator(s) of the winning YouTube video will receive a USD 5,000 cash prize. GPI will also give a USD 5,000 cash prize to the packaging sciences department affiliated with the winning video. On the Recycle Glass Day website, consumers can also find out more about how to recycle locally, fun facts on glass container recycling, and discover how much carbon they save by recycling glass containers on GPI“s glass container carbon calculator. Today, glass is the proven form of packaging for those who are looking for sustainability, purity and recyclability. As a rule of thumb, for every 1% of recycled glass used, energy costs drop 0.5%. A 10% increase in recycled glass use decreases fossil fuel emissions by 2.5% and decreases particulate emissions by 7%. Winner(s) of the YouTube competition will be announced on Recycle Glass Day. The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is the trade association representing the North American glass container industry.