Glass half-full: Victoria paves the way to create new products from recycled glass

Glass items such as jam jars and sauce bottles are getting a new lease on life as more used glass is being recycled to create new products, right here in Victoria.

With upgrades to local glass recycling facilities and the continued rollout of the state-wide glass recycling stream, Victorians can look forward to seeing more used glass containers turned into useful everyday products. From peanut butter jars to the tarmac under your tyres, finding new sustainable uses for recycled glass is only the beginning of positive changes taking place in the state.

From jars and bottles to roads

Victorians go through over 280,000 tonnes of glass a year, but many are not aware that this material is in fact a valuable and sustainable resource in creating a multitude of new products – including roads. Because glass can be recycled an infinite number of times without losing quality, it is the perfect material to be recycled over and over again.

While your recycled glass bottles and jars are made into new containers for food and other goods sold on supermarket shelves, they can also be remarkably effective in cutting costs and reducing carbon emissions when they are used in civil and road construction.

Some areas are already changed for the better as tarmac surfaces are now being partially constructed out of recycled glass in Victoria. Small fragments of glass that can’t be remade into jars and bottles are used as a viable alternative to essential elements in construction, such as sand.

So, while it may seem rather strange to think you could be driving on what used to be old wine or sauce bottles, this innovative process of using recycled glass increases sustainability outcomes for construction, starting with its role in reducing the demand for sand mining.

There is simply no shortage of what you can do with recycled glass, and as the new glass-only recycling stream is being rolled out across the state by 2030, Victorians can expect to see more being made from this sustainable resource in the future.

Look out for purple lids

Upgrades to Melbourne’s glass sorting facility also means that more glass from Victorian households is being recycled right in Victoria. The new purple-lidded glass recycling stream encourages families to recycle more and in turn reduces reliance on glass being made from precious natural resources.

Not only does the glass-only recycling stream increase the percentage of recycled glass used in making new glass products from 30 to 70 percent, but did you know that it helps us recycle more materials that aren't glass? Shattered glass in mixed recycling bins can contaminate other materials. The introduction of the glass-only stream avoids broken glass damaging things like newspapers and shampoo bottles and means more of your recycling can be turned into new products, right here in Victoria!

Sustainability Victoria cited that in the City of Yarra, which introduced a glass-only bin and drop-off service in 2020, reported that 90 percent of glass collected is being recycled into new bottles and jars.

The importance of sorting correctly

Whether being used to create new products or to develop infrastructure, it is important that glass containers are sorted correctly at a household level to ensure more of these resources are recycled.

Sustainability Victoria, through their ‘A small act makes a big impact’ campaign, is showcasing some of common and unique products that are being made from your recycling locally when it’s correctly sorted. They also offer useful tips and information to help Victorians recycle more and correctly.

Read more on how Victoria continues to make more from your recycled glass.