FDBusiness.com

The average glass recycling rate in the European Union has risen above the 70% threshold for the first time, according to data from European glass packaging body Feve

Feve said that this means that over 11 million tonnes were collected throughout the European Union in 2011.

The organisation said that this achievement follows “major efforts” made in all EU Member States over the past few years to meet the EU’s 60% recycling target for glass, a level that was reached by all the relevant countries by 2008.

UK

In a statement, Feve said that the UK continues to make steady, if more modest progress at just over 60%. It added: “Other countries are in good shape to meet the target within the later fixed deadlines, while for some there is still potential to improve.”

“We have no problems in absorbing more recycled glass provided that this is of high quality. Glass recycling is the key component of the circular economy – because recycling closes the loop,” Feve president Stefan.”Glass recycling saves raw materials and energy and reduces production costs.”

According to Feve, 80% of glass collected for recycling is used over and over again to produce new glass bottles in the closed loop system.

British Glass head of container affairs Rebecca Cocking said: “We’re fully committed to working in partnership with all those along the supply chain to help make glass in landfill sites a thing of the past and to ensure that recycled glass is sent to applications with positive environmental benefit such as back into new bottles and jars.

“We also continue to highlight the benefits of recycling glass to the consumer via the our participation in the successful Friends of Glass movement, which now has some 33,000 supporters, plus over 40,000 Facebook fans and 7,200 Twitter followers”.