Glass recycling process
Glass is one of the first items sorted out at the recycling facility. Glass falls off the sorting line at the same time cardboard is sorted out. It falls and goes through a glass crusher. Anything less than 3" in size will also end up with the glass. At the sorting facility, air jets are used to remove as much shredded paper and other lighter contaminants (like plastics) as possible. The crushed glass is sorted into three different sizes.
Glass is loaded into a semi-truck and brought to Strategic Materials in St. Paul. Strategic Materials uses a lot of magnets, eddy currents and opticals sorters to remove all contamination from the crushed glass. Glass is also sorted into three different colors. It's also sorted by size.
- Flint (clear)
- Amber (brown)
- Blue and green
Clean glass is either turned back into new bottles or used for other purposes like sandblasting media or fiberglass insulation. The closest glass recycler to our area is Anchor Glass in Shakopee who uses flint (clear) glass to make new bottles and jars.
Watch a video of the recycling sorting process or sign up to tour the recycling facility