Glass is an extremely stable material that is also endlessly recyclable as it never loses its quality and purity despite on and on use. Many glass artifacts findings, dating from the 13th century BC, indicate that even if the glass bottle is broken into smaller pieces, its chemical composition remains well even after thousands of years.
Components
The basic components for glass are all natural resources such as sand, soda ash, limestone and recycled glass. However, it is important to note the amount of sand used worldwide for all sand uses, which is estimated to be around 50 billion tons of sand annually - twice the amount produced by rivers worldwide (Ludacer, R. 2018).
Degradability
Glass does not easily degrade, but can break. Research and artifacts findings have shown that glass degradability is almost zero. Instead, glass devitrifies which is when glass particles absorb moisture and over time causes it to crystallize and flake off (Cairoli, S. 2018). However, devitrification is a slow process and accompanied by the very stable formulas of modern glass, there is no doubt that glass will remain in landfills for thousands of years with slight to no devitrification.
Recycling and Reusing
Knowing the limitations of glass and broken glass particles ending up in landfills highlights the importance of recycling and reusing glass. Glass bottles and containers can be used and recycled persistently. Alongside the many uses of recycled glass, recycling centers crush glass into small pieces called cullet, creating a product that is less expensive than raw glass. On the other hand, reusing glass bottles and containers is considered more environmentally friendly as it requires zero energy to crush, melt and reform, yet serve many uses such drinking glasses, flower vases, candle holders and many more various uses.
Cairoli, S. (2018). How Long Does it Take for a Glass Bottle to Degrade in a Landfill? Sciencing. Retrieved from: https://sciencing.com/long-glass-bottle-degrade-landfill-17886.html
Kellogg, K. (2020). Which is Better For The Environment? Glass or Plastic? Going Zero Waste. Retrieved from: https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/which-is-better-for-the-environment-glass-or-plastic/
Ludacer, R. (2018). The world is running out of sand — and there's a black market for it now. Business Insider. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/world-running-out-sand-resources-concrete-2018-6
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