The glass containing your juice today might be the glass containing your spaghetti sauce tomorrow. That's because glass, especially glass food and beverage containers, can be recycled over and over again.

In fact, 90 percent of recycled glass is used to make new containers. Other uses for recycled glass include kitchen tiles, counter tops, and wall insulation. Glass makers have always known that glass can be recycled, but glass recycling has grown considerably in recent years. This growth is due to both increased collection through recycling programs and glass manufacturers' increased demand for recycled glass.

Today, most glass manufacturers rely on a steady supply of recycled crushed glass, known as "cullet," to supplement raw materials.

To make glass, manufacturers mix sand, soda ash, limestone, and cullet; heat the mixture to a temperature of 2,600 to 2,800 degrees F; and mold it into the desired shape. Sand is the only material used in greater volumes than cullet to manufacture glass. Using cullet saves money and helps the environment.

© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)