What goes in the glass collection : light bulbs, baking dishes, mirrors, crystal glasses… here are the false friends of glass that do not go in the separate collection of this material.
Before talking about glass recycling , I’ll ask you a few simple questions to test your ability to separate waste.
- – Where do you throw away supermarket receipts?
They don’t go in the paper! - – Where do you throw away medicine blisters?
They don’t go in the aluminum or undifferentiated waste! - – Where do you throw away polystyrene?
It doesn’t go in the unsorted waste! - – Where do you throw away CDs and DVDs?
They don’t go with aluminum.
If, out of four simple questions, you got one or more answers wrong, then it’s time to review and learn how to properly separate waste . After the correct answers, I recommend reading a very detailed guide on what to throw away and what not to throw away in individual separate collections for saving resources.
- Receipts
Receipts, even if made of paper, are printed with an ink that is particularly difficult to manage and therefore must be thrown in the inorganic waste collection (undifferentiated). - Blister
packs Medicine blister packs should be thrown into the plastic waste collection. They are made of multiple materials and should be treated just like Tetrapak . - Polystyrene
It should be disposed of with the separate plastic waste collection. - CDs and DVDs
should not be disposed of with WEEE (where you should put light bulbs, printers, old cell phones and other electronic devices), they should be placed in the unsorted waste.
How to separate waste
On the page How to do proper waste separation there are instructions on:
- what to throw in the inorganic waste
- what to throw in the plastic recycling bin
- what to dispose of with paper and cardboard
- what to throw in the organic bin
- How to separate hazardous urban waste
(i.e. paints, dyes, inks, etc.)
Below we will see what goes into the glass recycling collection .
What goes into glass collection
In Italy, the number of families that carry out separate glass collection is growing , but the number of people who mistakenly put objects defined as “false friends of glass” in glass bell jars is still high.
In the separate glass collection, and therefore in the green, yellow or brown bells that we find in the city, we can only insert objects actually made of glass such as:
- Glass jars
Like the jar for Nutella, tomato preserves, pickles, jams…. - Glass bottles
Green, brown or clear bottles - Glass jars
Like jars for baby food, meat or tuna fillets…
What NOT to throw in the glass recycling bin :
- Decorations
Yes, that is, Christmas ornaments that look like glass or blown glass. These items should be disposed of in the unsorted waste collection. - Lamps and light bulbs
Lights, lamps and light bulbs do not belong in the glass collection. These objects should be placed in the WEEE waste collection. Almost everything that works with electricity should be placed in the WEEE waste. - Pyrex
Heat and low temperature resistant cups, casseroles and salad bowls are made of Pyrex type glass ceramic, a material that cannot be disposed of in the glass recycling bin but must be thrown away with unsorted waste (non-recyclable waste). - Screens and displays
PC and TV screens, as well as smartphone or tablet displays, should not be disposed of in glass collection but collected with WEEE. - Mirrors
Mirrors (whether broken or intact) are not made of glass and therefore should not be disposed of with glass waste but with unsorted waste (non-recyclable waste). - Crystals
Crystal glasses, chandeliers, ashtrays and similar objects should not be thrown into the glass collection but into the black bin as they are non-recyclable waste.
Glass collection is a very delicate phase: glass loses value if made impure by other materials! To learn more about glass recycling, we invite you to read the in-depth pages:
