Glass is a material widely used in our daily lives.
You know how long it takes for glass to degrade. We assure you that if you were clear on that fact, you would give many uses to those bottles you throw away.
Yes, glass is a fundamental material in our lives.
Especially in the food industry, where it is used to package a large number of products from various factories.
Let’s see how long it takes for glass to degrade and how we should manage it to reduce the environmental impact of its disposal.
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This is how long it takes for glass to decompose
You may have wondered how long it takes for glass to degrade after disposal.
It is regrettable, but this process can take between 4,000 and 5,000 years.
Of all the materials we use and dispose of, glass is one of the longest lasting in the environment. This is because microorganisms on our planet are unable to quickly break down this material.
Glass, by lasting years in the environment, causes serious problems to the planet. These include forest fires or pollution of water bodies.
In addition, it has caused injuries, illnesses and even death to various animal and vegetable species that have come into contact with it or ingested it by mistake.
Good reasons to recycle glass
Glass is a resistant material and, although it is very delicate to transport, it is easy to wash and sterilize.
It can be reused as many times as desired. This allows for better use of the raw material and less damage to the environment.
Glass containers do not lose their qualities with use. Neither do they absorb the odours from their contents.
In addition, their reuse reduces chemical emissions from their manufacture.
When you recycle old glass containers to make new ones, you save 30% energy because the melting point of that glass is lower.
On the other hand, with the recycling of glass containers you can get large amounts of raw materials such as sand, soda and limestone.
If the glass containers and bottles are deposited in their respective containers, companies are supplied with the necessary resource to make new containers and save 30% in resources.
Special container for recycling glass
For our part, the first step to ensure the recycling of glass containers and bottles is the correct disposal. That is, throwing them into the green container, which is intended for everything made of glass.
If the containers have plastic or metal lids, you must discard them in the corresponding container. This way, they will be reused to make other products.
If you have some bottles at home that are returnable, you can research the places near your home where you can deliver them so that they can be delivered to companies for reuse.
Before you put the glass containers inside the green container, it’s ideal to wash them until no residue remains. This step will make the process of sterilizing and recycling the glass easier.
Besides recycling, what can I do with the glass?
Since these containers are resistant and have different capacities, there are a lot of utilities that can be given to you at home.
They can be used to store and preserve liquids such as sauces, vinegar, water and oil in your pantry or refrigerator.
They can also be used as packaging for eating out or for storing cold cuts, dairy products or meat in the refrigerator.
If you don’t like to leave the food in its packaging and want to give it a better appearance, you can put it in glass containers and it will keep its freshness.
You can use it as a pencil holder, original glasses, lamps, vases, to keep screws and nuts, among other home uses.
They are also used in decoration. For example, you can create an original centerpiece by using a long container and placing flowers, incense or candles according to the atmosphere you are going to give to your meal.
Options for the use of glass in our kitchen
If you are worried that it will take 5,000 years for the footprint of your planet to disappear, there are many options you can choose from.
One of them is the use of biodegradable or compostable products, like the ones you find in Greenuso.
These types of products are made with materials that have little or no impact on the environment and disappear in a short time.
If you want to know the options you have, we invite you to visit Greenuso, your ecological products shop on the Internet.
