About us

We share a common European ambition to collect more glass packaging and recycle it back into new glass packaging, for infinite cycles.

Our vision is to achieve a 90% glass packaging collection for recycling rate in the EU by 2030, so more recycled content can be used in a new production loop. Our mission is to provide a platform that supports exchange of best practice between all the operators and professionals who are active in glass collection and recycling. All the value chain is involved: glass producers, brands & fillers, Extended Producer Responsibility organisations, glass recycling facilities, municipalities, as well as the hospitality sector.

Glass Collection for Recycling Rate

Close the Glass Loop, in collaboration with our partners and national platforms, monitors the journey towards attaining our ambitious goal of achieving a 90% glass collection for recycling rate. Every year, during the month of June, coinciding with the anniversary of the platform's launch, we proudly unveil our annual report on the glass recycling rates for EU27 + United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Norway. Our latest publication showcases the current recycling rates in a visually engaging and informative map, shedding light on the remarkable progress we have made in promoting sustainable glass recycling across these regions. As we continue to work tirelessly to encourage responsible glass disposal and recycling practices, we look forward to sharing our ongoing success stories and inspiring others to join us in this vital mission.

Progress over Years

Close the Glass Loop remains dedicated in its commitment to year-over-year improvement, as vividly depicted in the visual representation below. This consistent growth is a direct result of our close collaboration with a diverse spectrum of sectors and municipalities. Our success is further bolstered by intensive communication campaigns and active engagement with all stakeholders in the glass collection & recycling industry. Together, we forge strong partnerships to collectively pursue the objective of Close the Glass Loop. This effort ensures that we not only meet our objectives but also set a benchmark for sustainable glass recycling, creating a lasting impact on the environment and communities.

About Glass Recycling

Be it reusable or recyclable packaging, glass is an infinite resource and a permanent material in an always-improving circular system. We can choose to avoid waste by recycling and need to get people to recycle more and to recycle better!

• Made from recycled glass and raw materials (sand, soda ash, limestone) found in nature, glass is 100% and infinitely recyclable in a closed bottle-to-bottle loop – making recycled glass (known as cullet) a vital resource for new production.
• Glass is one of the few Permanent Materials that have the potential to be recycled over and over again, without losing their inherent properties.
• Recycling glass is an easy step to actively contribute to reduce packaging waste, reduce the use of virgin raw materials and CO₂ emissions and save energy.
• Cullet use reduces reliance on newly extracted raw materials and the energy, and emissions associated with this.

What are the key benefits of glass recycling?

Each time 1 tonne of cullet is introduced into a glass furnace:

• It replaces approximately 1.2 tons of virgin raw materials.
• It reduces the CO2 emissions by 580 kg on a Life Cycle basis (cradle to cradle). On average, a 10% increase of cullet in the furnace decreases CO2 emissions by 5% on gate to gate basis.
• It reduces the energy consumption of the furnace: as a rule-of-thumb for large furnaces, every 10% increase of cullet will reduce the energy consumption of the furnace by ~2.5% on gate to gate basis but this can vary depending on furnace size