The green impact
The recycling of glass has a direct impact on the environmental footprint of the packaging industry, allowing savings in energy and raw materials as well as the creation of more than 125,000 stable jobs at European level.
In the case of Spain, the glass packaging sector generates almost 11,000 jobs, contributing 860 million euros to GDP and acting as a driving force and support to export. As a result of the awareness campaigns developed by, among others, Friends of Glass, Spanish consumers show a high level of awareness with regard to glass recycling.
Figures for glass recycling during the last year can be interpreted as environmental benefits such as precluding the extraction of more than a million tonnes of raw materials (sand, soda and lime) and preventing the emission of 556,061 tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere (similar to travelling by plane more than 100,000 times the distance between Spain and Australia).
Last year alone, 5,873 new green igloos were installed at the kerbside to reach a total of 230,950 bins, making the ratio in Spain one for every 204 inhabitants.
Photographs: Ecovidrio.