Green Living

Glass and glasses

The aim of this column is to publicise good ideas for both the committed and the reluctant environmentalist.

I know that many of us recycle the glass we use even though glass isn't taken away for us with our other recycling. If you don't, please save your glass and get it to one of the many bottle banks. Recycling glass uses 80% less raw materials and 22% less fuel than making glass from scratch. Yet we in the UK only recycle 25% of our glass, the European average is 50% and some European countries manage 80%. Of course it is even better for the environment when we reuse our glass and one easy way is to support the milkman.

We can make our recycling more effective by helping those who use our waste glass. We can do this by making sure that the glass is clean and by removing corks, lids and anything that isn't glass before dropping it into the bottle bank.

Spectacles can also be recycled to help millions of people around the world who are handicapped because they either can't afford or can't get the glasses they need. Most opticians will take your old spectacles which usually go to a charity called Vision Aid.

Revd Nigel Tuffnell