By saving on raw material, using less energy, and cutting CO2 emissions, recycling results in vast environmental pay offs.
Recycling glass is easy and makes it possible to make new glass bottles and jars in as little as 30 days.By saving on raw material, using less energy, and cutting CO2 emissions, recycling results in vast environmental pay offs.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTS
Glass can be recycled endlessly with no loss in quality or purity. In 2018, 31.3% of glass food and beverage packaging containers were recycled. In some states, like California, glass bottle recycling reaches over 80%.
UNMATCHED ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
Recycling glass containers promotes efficiency with significant environmental benefits that includes:
Saving on raw materials: over a ton of natural resources are conserved for every ton of glass recycled, including 1,300 pounds of sand, 410 pounds of soda ash, 380 pounds of limestone, and 160 pounds of feldspar.
Repurposing for production of new containers and fiberglass products.
The container and fiberglass industries collectively purchase and remelt 3.2 million tons of recycled glass annually.
A decrease in energy use, with about 2-3% drop in cost for every 10% cullet used in the manufacturing process.
Greenhouse gas reduction in which a ton of carbon dioxide is reduced for every 6 tons of recycled container glass. A relative 10% increase in cullet reduces particulates by 8%, nitrogen oxide by 4%, and sulfur oxides by 10%.
furnace life by including cullet in the manufacturing mix, making it less corrosive and lowering the melting temperature from 2800 degrees
.F. to 2600 degrees F
.SAFETY & WEIGHT
Today’s glass containers are approximately 40% lighter than they were 30 years ago..efforts to reduce the weight of glass containers continue throughout the industry.
Glass packaging can handle vacuum or high-pressure sealing, safeguarding against moisture and oxygen invasions. This protects food and beverages from spoilage and bacteria.
Glass containers are impermeable, air-tight, and transparent. You can see the freshness of food and beverages.
Nontoxic and FDA Approved
Made from nontoxic raw materials—silica, sand, soda ash, limestone and up to 70% recycled glass—glass is the only packaging material certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as “generally regarded as safe.”
Glass is nonporous and impermeable, so there are no interactions between glass packaging and products to affect the flavor of food and beverages. No nasty after taste—ever.
Glass has an almost zero rate of chemical interaction, ensuring that the products inside a glass bottle keep their strength, aroma, and flavor.
Glass can be specified to absorb damaging ultraviolet light, ensuring product purity and taste. In fact, glass has an inherently longer shelf life than any packaging material.
Glass does not deteriorate, corrode, stain or fade, so products inside a glass container remain as fresh as when they were bottled.
Glass Media for Pool Filter vs. Sand Filters
What if we told you there is a way to never change the glass media in your sand filter again? Well, we know a way! Dive in with us as we take a closer look at pool filter media and compare regular sand filter media to glass and the pros and cons for each.
Sand Filter Media
We will get into the way glass media works further into our discussion, for now we’ll begin with sand. For starters, sand will filter particles down to approximately 30 microns. Another nice aspect of sand is the physical size and make up; filters require less sand than glass-based media because glass media is a more condensed, finer material. To build on that, you'll need less sand and end up spending less money up front to fill your pool filter's required needs. However, you will need to replace the sand every 2-5 years depending on use, pollutants, and overall quality of media.
Every sand filter will need a different amount of media so be sure to follow the Manufacturer's requirements listed in your owners manual for maximum efficiency. With that being said, both media work in different but similar ways. Sand causes pollutants and particles to collide and become waste to be expelled from your filter later with a maintenance backwash.
So, sand is the cheaper option to get the job done, right? Let us talk about glass media first and THEN you can decide!
Glass Filter Media
Initially, glass pool filter media was entirely made of recycled glass or unwanted bottles with more researched options evolving over time. Glass media is just that, a filter media made from silica or very fine particles of glass. So fine in fact, glass will filter as low as 10-15 microns with ease. Like we explained earlier, density and volume play a huge role in filtering soluble liquids. Because glass is not as dense as sand, it allows for smaller microns to be filtered, even performing as efficiently as a Diatomaceous Earth filter. The media also lasts eight years or more!! Some glass media users have reported never needing to replace the glass at all which is another huge advantage of having a glass-based media.
The glass media that does need to be “replaced” is actually cleaned, and then additional glass is simply added to the existing glass. We mentioned previously that sand attracts dirt, pollutants, and undesirable particles by becoming stuck to them. Glass works the same way except it is negatively charged which causes the pollutants to become attracted and stuck before being released on backwash. Because of the efficiency of this filter style less water is expelled and wasted from the filter which actually leads to lower run time, less water wasted and less of a bill overall. Add in the fact you will not need to shovel out $200 or more dollars every 2-5 years for sand while having to literally shovel sand and we would say glass pays for itself!
How to Add Glass Media to a Pentair TR100 Sand Filter
Check out the video below to see how the glass is added to a filter:
With the information found in this guide, you'll be able to better understand your sand filter and make an educated decision to help extend the life of your filter for years to come! If you have any questions regarding the information found in this blog feel free to reach out to us directly. Our team of Pool Professionals is here to help you through every step of the process. Otherwise, just keep swimming!