Glass bottles and jars are a common part of everyday life—from pasta sauce and jam to pickles and beverages. While they're fully recyclable, the most environmentally friendly option is to reuse them first whenever possible.
After a quick wash, glass bottles and jars can enjoy a second life as storage for leftovers, pantry staples, homemade dressings, coffee and tea, hardware, craft supplies, or even fresh flowers and plant cuttings.
When a glass container has reached the end of its useful life, recycling is the next best option. In BC, glass bottles and jars are collected separately from other recycling materials. When glass is placed in the mixed container or paper recycling stream, it can break during collection and processing, contaminating paper and other recyclable materials while also creating a safety issue for staff handling these materials.
Accepted and non-accepted glass for recycling
Glass bottles and jars accepted through home or depot recycling are considered glass packaging because they originally contained food or beverages.
Examples of accepted glass packaging include:
- Pasta sauce jars
- Jam jars
- Salsa jars
- Pickle jars
- Baby food jars
Other household glass items are considered glass products, not packaging. These items are made from different types of glass that melt at different temperatures and cannot be recycled with glass bottles and jars.
Examples of non-accepted glass items include:
- Drinking glasses
- Wine glasses
- Window glass
- Mirrors
- Pyrex and bakeware
- Ceramics
- Flower vases
- Picture frame glass
- Refundable beverage containers
Refundable beverage containers, such as glass beer, wine, pop and juice bottles, should be returned to a depot so you can receive your deposit refund.
Broken household glass should be safely wrapped before placing it in the garbage.
How to prepare glass for recycling
Whether you're using curbside collection, a depot or apartment recycling program, preparing glass is simple:
- Give it a quick rinse, a small amount of residue is okay, but containers should be mostly clean
- Leave labels on
- Remove lids and place them in your mixed recycling bin
- Place bottles and jars loose in the designated glass recycling bin
- Never put glass in a plastic bag before placing in recycling bin
Collection methods
Be aware that in BC, glass bottles and jars are always put into their own designated bin – either at the curb, in an apartment or condo recycling room, or at the depot.
Single-family homes
Residents receiving CRD curbside blue box collection can recycle glass bottles and jars by placing them in a separate bin. An old plastic tub or pail can be used to contain your clean glass containers. Cardboard boxes, paper bags or plastic bags are not suitable receptacles for your glass containers. You can email infoline@crd.bc.ca to have a Glass Bottles and Jars Only sticker for your glass bin mailed to your house.
Apartments and condo buildings
Apartment and condo buildings are serviced by private waste and recycling companies rather than the CRD's curbside collection program. Recycling services vary between buildings and service providers, so residents should follow the instructions provided by their property manager or strata.
The CRD is working to improve access to recycling through initiatives such as Beyond the Curb and is exploring opportunities to expand access to additional recycling streams, including glass. Recycle BC works with private waste haulers to support residential packaging and paper recycling services for multi-family buildings. Property managers and residents can contact Recycle BC at info@recyclebc.ca to learn more about available recycling options.
Recycling Depots
If your home or building doesn't offer glass collection, glass bottles and jars can still be recycled free of charge at participating Recycle BC depots, including the Hartland Depot and the Beyond the Curb hubs. There are currently 14 depots throughout the capital region that accept glass. If you do not currently have access to glass recycling, consider choosing products packaged in materials accepted through the recycling program or reusable packaging options where available.
What happens to recycled glass?
Once collected, glass undergoes several processing steps to crush it into cullet, a material that can then be transformed into new products. Processing glass requires specialized equipment and large volumes of material. Depending on the quality of the material and market demand, recycled glass may be used to manufacture new glass bottles and jars or processed into products such as sandblasting media and construction aggregate. Whenever possible, glass is directed to the highest-value end use.
Glass collected through the CRD's curbside blue box program, Beyond the Curb Hubs and the Hartland Depot is collected on behalf of Recycle BC. Recycle BC manages the post-collection services for this material, which is processed at an end market in BC.
Glass collected from apartment and condo buildings through private waste haulers may follow different processing arrangements. Residents can contact their building manager or waste hauler for information about where their collected glass is processed.
By properly sorting and preparing glass bottles and jars for recycling, residents help ensure that valuable materials are recovered and put back to use. Every correctly recycled container supports BC's recycling system and helps reduce waste sent to landfill.
