Şişecam Glass Packaging continues to work uninterruptedly to raise awareness about glass recycling, and this year it was the main sponsor for the fifth annual "Green Sector" conference organized by the Yıldız Technical University Environment Club.

Aiming to contribute to ecological and economic development by raising awareness in the public about the recycling capabilities of glass, the most sustainable packaging material that exists, Şişecam Glass Packaging explained one of its social responsibility projects, "Glass and Glass Again," which is among Turkey's most comprehensive sustainability efforts, at the "Green Sector" conference. 

Based on its knowledge that glass is the most sustainable packaging material that exists, Turkey's leading glass packaging manufacturer Şişecam Glass Packaging continues uninterruptedly its efforts to increase awareness about the recyclability of glass as part of the project it launched in 2011, "Glass and Glass Again." Most recently, Şişecam Glass Packaging supported the "Green Sector" conference as a main sponsor at the fifth annual event organized by Yıldız Technical University Environment Club this year.

Şişecam Glass Packaging was the main sponsor at the conference held under the slogan "For a Sustainable life", which took place on March 14-15, 2016 at the Yıldız Technical University Davutpaşa Congress and Cultural Center. The leading companies in the sector gathered together at the conference, which was attended by academics, dozens of students and sector representatives. The sector's leaders discussed in detail "sustainable business and green business" at "Green Sector 2016."

Glass packaging can be recycled 100 percent and endless times

Making a presentation about the "Glass and Glass Again" project at the conference, Şişecam Glass Packaging Recycling Expert Volkan Aydeniz called attention to how glass is a material that can undergo 100 percent recycling, endless times, and without losing its quality. Aydeniz continued to say: "Glass shards constitute a very important input in glass packaging manufacturing. Glass is the only packaging material that can undergo 100 percent recycling without losing its quality and it can go through this cycle an endless number of times. Breaking the endless cycle of glass would prevent the potential benefits that human beings and our country can derive from nature." Aydeniz pointed out that with the "Glass and Glass Again" project, they expected to create behavioral change in the community in order to reach their target of achieving a recycling society. He said that recycling was shaping the future of the world and must be seen as a part of everyday life.

The "Glass and Glass Again" Project has three fundamental legs​

According to the information presented, there are three fundamental legs to the award-winning Glass ​and Glass Again Project:

• To raise awareness about recycling glass packaging and raise awareness among the society;
• To develop an infrastructure for collecting glass packaging wastes;
• To modernize the facilities that process the collected glass packaging wastes and to create the capability of separating glass packaging wastes from household wastes prior to warehousing.

These three fundamental aspects have provided the framework for Glass Becomes Glass Again, which is one of the country's most comprehensive projects as it provides for long-term and strategic planning while targeting a wide audience of stakeholders. With its educational activities focusing on nursery and elementary schools, the project appeals to children, and to people of all walks of life with its street activities. Cooperating with ÇEVKO (Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and the Recycling of Packaging Wastes), the project also supports the NGO's, municipalities and local governments with its donations of glass packaging waste collection vehicles and glass money-boxes. The project also reaches out to the private sector with technical and financial support provided to facilities that contribute to recycling and make glass packaging wastes usable once again in production.

590,000 tons of glass wastes return to life​

• Since the beginning of the project up until now, 203,000 elementary school children have received education in glass recycling.
• Particularly in the big cities where there is a density of glass packaging wastes, cooperative efforts have been continued with 136district municipalities in 22 cities. A total of close to 13,000 glass money-boxes have been donated to the municipalities.
• Up until now, 590,000 tons of glass bottles have been retrieved and detoured from their paths to the garbage piles.
• The recycling rate of the glass packaging that reaches the market was 8 percent in 2011, but thanks to the Glass Becomes Glass Again project, this rate reached 17 percent in 2015.

Carbon emissions that are equal to 212,000 vehicles withdrawing from traffic

• Thanks to the Glass Becomes Glass Again project, carbon emissions equivalent to having 212,000 vehicles withdrawn from traffic have been prevented.

• Energy savings equivalent to meeting the heating and hot water needs of 24,800 households have been achieved.
• Piles of sand equivalent to a band of beach 61 kilometers long and 10 meters wide have been prevented from being used in the production of glass.​

A single glass bottle operates a computer for 25 minutes

• Using glass shards in glass production at a rate of 10 percent makes it possible to reduce the need for raw materials by 12 percent, the need for energy by 2.5 percent, and to diminish carbon emissions by 5 percent.
• Glass is a packaging material that can be 100 percent recycled with no loss to quality; to produce 1 glass bottle, all that is needed is 1 glass bottle.
• Recycling 1 glass bottle means saving as much electricity as it takes to operate a computer for 25 minutes, a television for 20 minutes.