BLOG IN A BOTTLE

With a population of over 7 million and a land area of just 1,100 square kilometres, Hong Kong is the second most densely populated area in the world. Almost 7,000 people live in each square kilometre (km²) of land. That compares to 400/km² in Europe’s most densely populated country – the Netherlands.

With so little land available, recycling plays an important part in dealing with Hong Kong’s daily output of waste. More than 150 tonnes of glass bottles enter the waste stream every single day.

To help establish a circular economy for waste glass, the Hong Kong government has proposed a mandatory producer responsibility scheme (PRS). The PRS will ensure all stakeholders in the glass supply chain share responsibility for recycling waste glass.

To promote the scheme, Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has organised a roving exhibition on glass recycling using the slogan ‘Let’s Join Hands to Turn Waste into a Resource’. Aimed at the general public, the exhibition includes examples of art glass, game booths and videos. There is also a glass recycling counter where people can hand-in rinsed glass bottles in return for a souvenir.

If you are in Hong Kong and you would like to visit the exhibition, check-out the exhibition schedule on the EPD website.

Recycling glass is cool, recycling glass is hot (literally, you need quite a few degrees to recycle glass), but above all: recycling glass is necessary. For you, for me, for our planet.

FEVE has been collecting data about glass recycling over the past few years. And as it turns out, Europe is doing pretty well on this subject. That’s why we’ve made a nice and clear infographic so you can see it with your own eyes. Because we hope you’re part of that 80% of European consumers who regularly recycle their glass bottles… And if you’re not, what are you waiting for?

PS: Make sure you check out the other nice stuff we have to offer you in our Friends of Glass Recycling Week, on Facebook or on Twitter.

During 2012 we reported on a number of initiatives to limit the use of disposable water containers. The goal of campaigners is to increase the use of sustainable containers such as glass bottles which can be recycled and refilled over and over again without losing their qualities.

In December, students at Canada’s Thompson Rivers University petitioned the university’s Board of Governors to ban drinks which are not packaged in sustainable containers. After collecting more than 4,000 signatures and 2,500 pledges, the student’s union is hopeful that the Board agree to its request. If adopted, bottled water will only be available on campus in containers which are easily recycled such as glass.

On 1 January 2013, the city of Concord, Massachusetts became one of the first municipal areas in the US to prohibit the sale of bottled water in containers smaller than one litre. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste produced and the number of disposable bottles which often end-up in the world’s oceans.

Since Coca-Cola’s contour bottle was first introduced almost a century ago, it has become a design icon and closely associated with the Coke brand. In parts of the world such as Asia, the glass contour bottle is still in use. As they are made of glass, the bottles are collected, washed and reused over and over again.

But what can you do with the bottles which have deteriorated from extensive reuse? While the usual response would be to recycle them, for Oki Sato the answer was upcycling. Director of Japan’s nendo Design Office, Sato saw an opportunity to utilise traditional artisan techniques to create a new product using only the contour bottles which were ready for recycling. That product is Bottleware, a set of five beautiful pieces of glass tableware.

Bottleware was first exhibited at DESIGNTIDE TOKYO 2012 and is now on sale at a range of exclusive retailers in Japan, and via the Bottleware site. Using a technique used to create traditional handicrafts in the Aomori region of Japan, the tableware replicates many of the details of the glass contour bottle such as the colour and thickness of the glass. Sato’s design for the tableware also replicates the ridges found at the bottom of the contour bottle.

As each piece is handcrafted, the Bottleware range is very expensive. But there are much simpler ways to upcycle your used glass Coke bottles – some of which you can try at home. Simplest of all is Photojeanie’s candleholder – just give the bottle a rinse and stick in a candle!

Wind chimes are another popular way to upcycle glass bottles and many types are available from handcraft sites such as Etsy. You can even upcycle your own glass bottles to make a wind chime at home if you have access to glass cutting tools. They make a delightful tingling sound as they are blown by the breeze.

Have you upcycled your used glass bottles or jars? We’d love to see your creations on the Friends of Glass Facebook page!

This year the Friends of Glass have supported two of the participants in the four-day Mazurska Star cycling marathon. The marathon visited four towns in Poland’s Masurian Lake District – a network of more than 2,000 lakes in the north-east of the country. Known for its natural beauty, more than 30% of the Masuria area is covered by forests.

Friends of Glass is a big supporter of healthy, sustainable lifestyles, so it was only natural for us to provide assistance for this fun event in one of Europe’s most pristine environmental areas. A number of events were also held to raise awareness of recycling and the benefits of glass.

On 26th March, FEVE published the latest numbers on glass recycling in Europe.

This is what it looks like:

Glass Recycling in Europe, 2010

In 2010, 68% of household glass in Europe was recycled.

This is what it represents:
- 68% is equal to 25 million glass bottles and jars.
- 20 out 25 million (80%) were recycled back into bottles and jars.
- 80% of household glass requires about 12 million tons of the planet’s natural resources (sand, limestone, soda ash) and releases 7 million tons of CO2 into our planet’s atmosphere to produce.
- 7 million tons of CO2 is approximately the same amount attributed to a small nation of cars on the road per year*.

Every 10% increase in recycled glass = a decrease of
-10% in sulfur dioxide (SO2)
-6% in nitrogen oxide (NOx)
-17% in carbon dioxide (CO2)
-2.5%°in electricity and natural gas
-6°C in furnace temperatures (during manufacturing process)
-9.5% in raw materials.
(Source: Glass Packaging Institute)

This is what it means:
These characteristics make glass a clear example to follow in the ambitious strategy of the European Commission to make the European Union a ‘resource efficient’ economy where recycling is the key factor to waste reduction and where waste is considered as a valuable resource.
(Conclusion of the Feve Study.)

*Calculated on 4 million people between ages 19 – 65 years, Switzerland:
http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/themen/01/02/blank/key/alter/gesamt.html

The Facts:
Glass jars have been around since the 1800s but it wasn’t until the after 1900 that home canning was encouraged and seen as a way to provide better diets, preserve flavor, food longevity and reduce the cost of living. By the end of the century, the decline of the family farm, the low cost of commercially canned foods and the widespread use of freezers had made home canning more of a hobby than a habit.

The Trends:
In the new millennium, we have other things on our mind. With the growing concerns over global-warming, as well as our valid worries over food safety, the relationships between food, flavor, health, packaging and sustainability are now at the forefront of our thoughts.

A trend among consumers is emerging: the desire to live a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. This has been seen in the rapid rise of organic food and farming, the return to popularity of home-cooking and preserving, and an increasing awareness and interest in our foods’ sources and ingredients.

More and more of us are realizing that the future of our planet may very well depend on where we get our food, what we choose to eat and how we decide to store it.

The Research:
Commissioned by FEVE (the European Container Glass Federation), the InSites study asked over consumers in 17 countries across Europe what they thought about various packaging materials.
In a nutshell, the survey reveals:

-          65% of consumers prefer glass because it preserves taste,
-          63% perceive that it is safest health-wise,
-          50% say it is the most environmentally-friendly.

The same kind of survey was carried out in the States in 2006 with the same results:

'Glass is Life' Awareness Campaign, USA

Furthermore, glass is the only packaging material rated “GRAS” or “generally regarded as safe” by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
(Newton Marketing & Research of Norman, Oklahoma)

Clearly, consumers agree that glass is their preferred packaging for consumer health and the environment.

Nutritious and Delicious
The InSites survey goes on to show that the preference for glass is particularly high when it comes to certain food and drink categories where flavor is everything, such as spirits, wines and beers. More than that, glass also preserves the natural aromas, tastes and textures, making it the perfect material to store fresh and perishable products as fruit juices, smoothies and tomato-based sauces.

Glass is the material of choice for chefs, in particular, Geir Skeie who knows that glass is a true food lover. The purity of glass ensures that food retains its great flavour.
WATCH THE VIDEO:

Recipes and Instructions
Why not give it a go? Here are some handy links to get you started:

Canning, The Epicurious Way
Canning Safely, Weck
Home Canning, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
Meyer Lemon Marmalade Recipe, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
How to Can, Fresh Preserving
Food in Jars Blog
Recipes, Saving the Season
Preserved Fruits and Sweetmeats, Jennie June’s American Cookery Book, by Jane Cunningham Croly. Google Books.
Kitchen Lighting Made From Weck Canning Jars, The Kitchn
Weck Canning Jars, Katy Elliot

Photo by: Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images

Let’s be honest – who really wants to talk about trash? We put it into bags, carefully place it outside our homes on the allocated day and, for most of us, that’s where it ends.

But for one lady that’s where it starts. Ms. April Lai lives in Hong Kong, where the seven million inhabitants produce a staggering 13,817 tons of garbage each day. Of the 6 million produced each year, barely any goes to recycling.

To give you an idea, in 2006 about 3,000 tons of glass waste was recovered, which came to about 2% of the glass waste generated in Hong Kong that year.

Whilst the government is slowly starting to put schemes into place to deal with this problem, Ms. Lai is spending her Thursdays and Saturdays sifting through rubbish at trash collection points in the city, gathering up all the glass she can find. With a tiny team of part-time drivers and volunteers, her nongovernmental organization, Green Glass Green, manages to deliver about two to three tons of glass to Tiostone Environmental each visit.

Founded in 2005, Tiostone’s factory is dedicated to transforming trash into paving stones and an essential component of those bricks is the glass Ms. Lai is tirelessly working to supply.

Tiostone Environmental by Bettina Wassener/The International Herald Tribune January 2012

Indeed, it is this very relationship between Green Glass Green and Tiostone that is rallying the local residents to take part in the city clean-up. Whilst Ms. Lai is fighting through endless red tape to obtain permission to place glass collection bins in public locations, residents around the city can be seen dropping off their bundles of glass empties for her to dispose of.

“When people show their support, it is so encouraging”, she says. Understandably so.

It no doubt seems Green Glass Green and Tiostone putting everything they have in the fight to keep the city clean. When programs to collect glass are met with indifference, such as the one set up by the government and Hong Kong hotel association in 2008 to retrieve glass waste from hotels, it is no doubt a delight to see people arriving with their empty jars and bottles.

Launch of the Glass Container Recycling ProgramNovember 2008

Certainly, the road ahead will not be an easy one for Ms. Lai and the founders of Tiostone. If waste loads continue to increase, an additional 400 hectares of land to develop new landfill sites to meet Hong Kong’s waste disposal needs up to 2030 (read more).  As Mr. Dixon Chan, Director of Tiostone, states, “Ms. Lai is doing a great job… but we need 1,000 Aprils”.

Fortunately, the outlook may not be as bleak as it seems:
“The fact that Green Glass Green, which began its collections 18 months ago, receives some government financing shows that the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department is starting to take glass recycling seriously,” Ms. Lai said.

There is hope yet. Thanks to Ms. Lai.

Visit Ms. Lai at GreenGlassGreen

One of the joys of the festive season is the array of yummy food that we get to try. But have you ever worried that your bin is as full as you are? UK website Love Food, Hate Waste estimates that 7.2 million tonnes of food are wasted each year in the UK alone. Reducing that to zero would save as much carbon dioxide as removing one in five cars off the country’s roads. The problem is so bad that the European Union’s Agriculture Committee has called on member countries to halve food waste by 2025.

One of the easiest things we can all do to reduce our food waste is to buy foodstuffs in glass. Why? Well firstly, glass containers are usually easy to reseal. You can just use as much as you need, refrigerating the leftovers until you need them. Glass is also impermeable to air, ensuring that any food you store in the glass container will be kept fresh for longer.

Websites such as Love Food, Hate Waste offer some fantastic tips for using up leftovers, especially at this time of the year. Why not try out their portion planner which makes an end to so much guesswork simply by suggesting how much to cook.  The True to Taste gallery on the Friends of Glass website also has lots of recipes you can try with leftovers. You can also submit your own suggestions via the Friends of Glass website or the True to Taste tab on our Facebook page.

Don’t you just love those sweet outdoor picnics in the summer? All you need is a ray of sunshine, a peaceful location, good company, some yummy food and…. a glass bottle containing something delicious to quench your thirst.

AND THAT’S WHERE WE COME IN
A lot of people make that little change every day to make our planet just that little bit greener. By choosing glass as packaging material for their foods and drinks, by recycling and sorting their waste and by sharing this positive eco-vibe with others!

SO TIME FOR A LITTLE SURPRISE
To thank you all in our own special way, we’re launching a new Facebook contest today called Pass The Bottle:

The game consists in sharing a good moment with your friends by passing each other a virtual glass bottle of a delicious drink until the bottle is emptied and successfully recycled. The one who recycles the bottle is the winner and wins a real glass bottle with something delicious inside!

So are you a true recycling champion? Show us the works by passing the bottle and take a shot at winning one of our 5.000 exclusive glass bottles!  Good luck!

Ready to pass your first bottle?