Glass alone makes up 5% of garbage in the U.S. It's a shame if any glass container uses up landfill space because glass lasts forever. The long-lasting nature of glass also means that glass can be recycled forever. It never wears out as a raw material, so old bottles and jars can be remanufactured into new glass containers over and over and over again. 

Make a visit to almost any museum and what will you find: GLASS, which has been recycled for almost 3,000 years. Be a part of this history by signing up with Delta Builds to recycle your glass bottles and jars today!

Different types of glass have different melting points. Some glass is made to withstand high temperatures, while others are made to hold cold drinks. We only accept beverage and food bottles and jars. No glass vases, glass drinking cups, window glass, Pyrex, lab glass or test tubes.

Glass beverage and food bottles and jars are the only types of glass accepted in the Delta Builds Glass Recycling Program. Frosted glass, plate glass, Pyrex, mirrors, and ceramics should not be placed in the Delta Builds glass bins. These are very serious contaminants and can cause our whole load of glass to be rejected.

Unfortunately, broken window glass (and drinking glasses, plates, ceramics, mirrors) are not recyclable in our program. These types of glass have a different melting temperature than beverage and food glass containers. Please dispose of non-beverage and food glass in your garbage can.

Pizza boxes are made from corrugated cardboard; however, the cardboard becomes soiled with grease, cheese, and other foods once the pizza has been placed in the box. Once soiled, the paper cannot be recycled because the paper fibers will not be able to be separated from the oils during the pulping process. Food is a major source of contamination in paper recycling, but not glass.

Many items can be considered contaminants. Contamination happens when non-recyclable items are mixed in with recyclables items or when recyclable items are placed in the wrong recycling bins. Innocent looking paper smeared with food or grease cannot be processed with clean paper and can ruin a newly made product if it is not caught before it goes to the factory. Too much contamination is the reason manufacturers reject tons of recyclable paper each year. For each category, the sign on the bins tells you what not to put in the bin. Please read these signs carefully!

Glass presents some tough recycling problems—including lack of end markets, contamination, and transportation costs—partly because it weighs about 10 times as much as a similar volume of plastic or aluminum. It busts up easily, which makes it hard on equipment and increases maintenance costs.

It is important to screw caps onto bottles and jars before putting these items into the recycling bin, even if the caps are made out of different materials. With the sorting system we have, loose caps end up in our glass and can contaminate the product.

Some types of glass can contain contaminants that should not end up in the glass container loop, as they would spoil the glass quality, while other glass articles may be treated and have a higher melting point than glass bottles (like cookware). This means that it won’t melt at the same time as untreated glass when processed for recycling. You may be able to recycle treated glass elsewhere if your local authority or municipality provides such services, but it shouldn’t be included in your ordinary glass recycling. Check online to find out more about your area!