2024 Sustainability Report Now Available

SUSTAINABILITY

O-I Improving Glass Recycling

Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality.

In fact, about 80% of the glass that is recycled is used to make new glass bottles and jars — in as little as 30 days. As a leading glass producer, O-I is also a leading glass recycler. By recycling glass to make new glass packaging, we advance the circular economy and create demand for recycled bottles each day.

Our vision is to be the most most innovative, sustainable, and chosen supplier of brand-building packaging solutions.

As a leading glass packaging producer, we are also a leading glass recycler.

Glass 4 Good in Waco

We are proactively collaborating with customers, associations, suppliers and local leaders to make glass recycling available in 100% of the communities where we operate.

We have several targeted initiatives aimed at growing and improving recycling. From providing community grants to purchasing infrastructure, we promote best practices for glass recycling.

Leading the way through Glass4Good

In response to growing demand for recycled glass, O-I has created Glass4Good™ Recycling, a community-based recycling program that incentivizes glass recycling by enhancing local recycling infrastructure with the potential of generating local charitable donations in the communities where O-I employees live and work.

Supporting Glass Recycling Programs & Education

Close the Glass Loop

Close the Glass Loop is our initiative to support the European Union’s packaging waste directive. The goal of this program is to boost collection rates to 90% by 2030. The Close the Glass Loop campaign encourages everyone in the loop, from glass makers to consumers to waste collection services to municipalities, to share knowledge and best practices around collecting, sorting and treating recycled glass containers, even across country lines.

Closing Gaps by
Funding Initiatives
The Glass Recycling Foundation (GRF) is a new nonprofit organization focused solely on funding glass recycling initiatives. O-I partners with GRF to raise funds for projects that address gaps in the glass recycling supply chain across the U.S.
Creating Global Ambassadors

The Asia Glass Ambassador first launched in O-I BJC Malaysia. The program promotes the benefits of glass, aims to improve glass recycling, and educates the public on how O-I uses recycled glass to make new glass containers – thus using fewer raw materials, less energy and reduces our carbon emissions.

O-I has several targeted initiatives aimed at growing and improving glass recycling by promoting best practices to improve environmental and economic impacts. The Asia Glass Ambassador Program is focused on increasing awareness around the circularity of glass, stimulating social impact, energizing economic development, advancing manufacturing aptitude, and achieving a sustainable future. Our efforts are making progress toward our sustainability goals.

Processing & Treating Cullet

Developing new channels to recycle and process glass is complex. Effective recycling systems require collaborative work from collection, to separation, to processing. We’re expanding our role in processing.

Maximizing Glass Processing
Glass to Glass in Oregon and Colorado is a glass recycler that harnesses the infinite circularity of glass. The organization’s glass recycling facilities enable municipalities and communities to divert glass, a recyclable resource, from their waste streams to maximize processing recycled glass packaging.
PROMAPI
PROMAPI, our Raw Materials Processing Plants in Mexico, are dedicated to recovering and recycling glass bottles and jars throughout the country. PROMAPI obtains cullet to supply O-I’s plants in Mexico.
Julia Vitrum
The Julia Vitrum Cullet Treatment plant in Italy is one of our creative, innovative, and collaborative solutions to ensuring more glass stays in the manufacturing loop and out of landfills. The project is a joint partnership between O-I and Italian glass manufacturer Zignago Vetro. It is one of the most technologically advanced glass cullet treatment plants in the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is glass recycling important?

Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without losing quality. Recycling glass saves raw materials, reduces energy consumption, and minimizes the environmental impact of manufacturing new glass.

O-I is a leader in glass recycling, integrating recycled glass (cullet) into the production process. One of our corporate sustainability goals is to have a global average of 50% recycled content in our glass bottles and jars by 2030, helping reduce CO2 emissions, energy demand and the use of raw materials.

Using recycled glass in manufacturing requires less energy than producing glass from raw materials. It also reduces carbon emissions and conserves natural resources, making the process more sustainable.

On average, 38% of O-I’s glass production comes from recycled materials, with some regions like Europe using up to 90% recycled content in their products.

One of the biggest challenges is the availability of cullet, as many communities lack the infrastructure to collect and process glass. O-I’s initiatives like Glass4Good aim to overcome these barriers by improving recycling infrastructure and awareness.

Yes, glass can be recycled endlessly without any degradation in quality or purity, making it one of the most sustainable packaging materials.

O-I has committed to incorporating a global average of 50% recycled glass in our packaging by 2030, significantly reducing the environmental impact of their operations and supporting a circular economy.

O-I partners with local governments, communities, and organizations to promote recycling programs, improve glass collection, and raise awareness about the benefits of glass recycling.

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