Are Glass Perfume Bottles Recyclable?
If you are a fragrance lover, after buying a lot of fragrances, you are sure to be left with a lingering question: "What to do with empty perfume bottles?" Well, one solution might be to recycle empty perfume bottles. But are perfume bottles really recyclable?
Most perfume bottles can be recycled, except those made of crystal glass. Some recycling plants do not use decorative perfume glass bottles, so check with your local plant first. When using the bottle for recycling, remove the metal or neck ring as these cannot be recycled with the bottle.
If you do plan to recycle empty perfume bottles, there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind. So, in this article, I will share with you a step-by-step guide to responsibly recycling perfume glass bottles.
How to dispose of glass perfume bottles?
Recycling is a very responsible choice. In fact, according to the Glass Packaging Institute, for every ton of glass recycled, more than a ton of natural resources can be saved. For every 6 tons of recycled container glass used in the manufacturing process, 1 ton of CO2 (carbon dioxide) is saved!
So thank you for choosing to recycle perfume bottles!
Let me walk you through the steps on how to dispose of a perfume bottle:
1. Empty the perfume bottle
The first thing we need to do is empty the perfume bottle. Even if you've fully used the bottle, you need to remove any residual perfume.
Remember - perfume is flammable! Therefore, it is important to drain any liquid from the perfume bottle. Make sure the perfume bottle is indeed completely empty.
2. Clean the bottle of any traces of perfume
To do double duty to ensure no perfume remains - and we don't mistakenly create a fire hazard for recyclers - rinse the bottle clean with water.
When cleaning with water, make sure to use lukewarm water as this will clean the bottle thoroughly.
3. Remove the plastic or metal cover or ring
Ideally, remove as many plastic or metal caps, nozzles, and spray units as possible before handing them over to a recycling plant. These items cannot be recycled with glass.
4. Sort perfume bottles by color
Some recycling units require you to sort perfume bottles by color. Ordinary transparent bottles are in one bag and the rest are bagged according to various colors of perfume bottles. Even each color may require its own recycling bag. Please confirm their policies with the recycling unit.
If you're wondering why perfume bottles need to be sorted by color? Well, that's a big deal. When you introduce mixed color glass into your clear glass recycling stream, you may be creating glass that does not meet the color standards set by your recycled glass customers.
In fact, if those colored bottles weren't separated, you might see some unwanted colors when you recycle!
5. Separate glass bottles from other items
Glass is not recycled in the same way as paper or plastic. It has its own unique properties.
In fact, food and beverage glass bottles are recycled separately from other glass because they have different melting points. Therefore, it is strongly recommended not to mix perfume bottles with any household items or glass cookware, jam jars, wine bottles, etc.
Remember to keep perfume bottles in separate bags from other items for recycling.
6. Do not let the glass bottle fall and break
Glass bottles are inherently fragile. So please don't let your perfume bottle fall and break.
First, the person handling the broken glass can be injured. Second, broken glass pieces, although recyclable, cannot be used to make fresh glass containers. It is likely to be used as part of broken glass or fiberglass or tile etc.
7. Avoid gifting crystal perfume bottles
Perfume bottles made of crystal glass need to be excluded from the recycling bag as they, unfortunately, cannot be recycled. Yes, you read that right - crystal is a non-recyclable glass! Any crystal glass perfume bottles or crystal glass corks need to be removed and stored outside of the set to be recycled.
8. See if decorative perfume bottles are accepted
So some recycling plants may not accept decorative perfume bottles. Decorative perfume bottles are usually painted, tinted, or foiled. So better try to reuse them.
The above describes the steps of recycling perfume glass bottles in detail. If you want to buy glass perfume bottles, please contact us.
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