The "Clear Benefits" of Glass Recycling

The Verallia plant in South Seattle makes 1 million wine bottles a day.  An $18 million renovation to mechanize the plant included changes to make it more energry efficient.  They installed new air compressors with grants from Seattle City Light.  Also, the company eCullet, which crushes and sorts glass from Seattle and Canada, moved in next door to the plant making it easier for the bottle maker to use recycled glass.

                       Jose Chavez October 2010:

"eCullet has hired 26 employees since the facility opened, said plant manager John Davenport. Those new jobs helped offset the job losses at Verallia, which since last year has let go 36 hourly workers, or 9 percent of its employees, as a result of its plant upgrades.  Currently, 48 percent of the bottles produced at the plant are made from cullet; the goal is 50 percent by the end of the year.  Glass recycling has clear benefits, said Joseph Grewe, CEO of Verallia North America.

"For every bottle that we recycle, the energy saved could light a 60-watt light bulb for four hours ... and for every 6 tons we use, we reduce CO2 emissions by a ton," Grewe said.

The project also improved energy efficiency by installing new air compressors with the help of grants from Seattle City Light. That's expected to save 2.4 million kilowatt hours per year."

Chavez, J. "Seattle maker of wine bottles modernizes, increases use of recycled glass."  Seattle Times Newspaper. October 27, 2010.  Accessed October 31, 2010.