Know what you can recycle
More people than ever are recycling and we couldn’t be happier – the glass industry love to use recycled glass when they manufacture new containers but not all types of glass can be used in production.
Know what you can recycle
More people than ever are recycling and we couldn’t be happier – the glass industry love to use recycled glass when they manufacture new containers but not all types of glass can be used in production.
Why 5,000 year-old glass is still wine’s best friend
We love new things at Friends of Glass – but did you know that just by being told something is new can distort how people feel about something?
Using glass around the home this Earth Day
Happy Earth Day! Today (22 April) we are exploring the ways you can recycle and reuse glass around your home. There are loads of small changes you can make to live a more sustainable lifestyle and incorporate glass around your home. Here are a few of our tips.
What happens to my glass after it’s recycled?
Friends of Glass urge brands to move back into glass after consumer survey results
Following Earth Day, the pan-European consumer movement Friends of Glass is calling on brands to make the switch back to glass.
What happens to my glass after it’s recycled?
Towards the end of 2019, FEVE and Friends of Glass launched their ‘Close the Glass Loop’ campaign to boost the glass collection for recycling rate to a target of 90% across Europe.
The best gifts in glass this Christmas
It’s that time of year again.
What is a deposit return scheme and why should glass not be included?
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the proposed deposit return scheme in Scotland which is currently scheduled to come into effect in 2021. But at Friends of Glass, we realised that a lot of people may not actually know what a deposit return scheme is and how it’ll effect how we recycle our household waste.
The Recycle Week Recap
Last week saw the latest edition of Recycle Now’s annual ‘Recycle Week’ celebration with brands and individuals from around the UK take inspiration from environmental activists, such as David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, to take recycling back into their own hands.
Recycle Week Case Study: Trerobart Primary School, Pontypridd
This Recycle Week, change is in your hands and our Glass Guardians programme has sparked a number of little acts of activism. Pontypridd’s Trerobart Primary School have learned a whole new world of knowledge through the project.
Recycle Week Case Study: Ysgol Maes Y Felin, Holywell
This Recycle Week, change is in your hands and our Glass Guardians programme has sparked a number of little acts of activism. Ysgol Maes Y Felin is keeping it local with their activism after being inspired by Glass Guardians.
Recycle Week Case Study: Blackwell Primary School, Alfreton
This Recycle Week, change is in your hands and our Glass Guardians programme has sparked a number of little acts of activism. Blackwell Primary School in Alfreton embody that with their Tough Tomatoes environmental action group.
Recycle Week Case Study: Pensby Primary School, The Wirral
This Recycle Week, change is in our own hands and our Glass Guardians programme has sparked a number of little acts of activism. The second case study comes courtesy of Pensby Primary School in the Wirral.
Friends of Glass support Recycle Week
It’s that time of year again as we celebrate recycling with Recycle Week and both Friends of Glass and British Glass are delighted to be supporting the campaign yet again.
Recycle Week Case Study: St Helens CoE School, North Devon
This Recycle Week, change is in your hands and our Glass Guardians programme has sparked a number of little acts of activism. We’ll be bringing you an example each day of this week, starting with St Helens school in Devon.
Jo’s 162-mile trek beats the weather
Yorkshire woman Jo Moseley has paddleboarded the width of the UK – on canals.
Waste not want not – freezing food in glass
With plenty of summer fruit and veg around now, this is a good time to save as much as possible of any fresh food you have spare now. And you can save it in spare glass jars
The best places to receive a ‘Cheers from the Ocean’
To coincide with our current Cheers from the Ocean campaign, we've gathered the best places from around the world you can experience your very own thank you from our beautiful oceans.
Life in the ocean wave with Friends of Glass
It’s life in the ocean wave this summer for lucky schoolchildren with the UK’s Ocean Conservation Trust thanks to the international Friends of Glass environmental programme ‘Ocean Squad’ - which has sold out.
Record Number of Sign Ups for Glass Guardians
A powerful national education campaign run by glass manufacturers has seen 150,000 children and more than 1,000 primary schools pledge to recycle glass in one of the largest-ever schools programmes in the UK.
Five Ways Glass Can Reduce Your Plastic Use
Hot on the heels of iconic broadcaster David Attenborough’s landmark documentary ‘Climate Change – The Facts’, the BBC have introduced their latest environmental series ‘War on Plastic’.
Choose Glass This World Oceans Day
As the weather begins to brighten up and the hay fever starts to set in, we’d be forgiven for our minds wandering towards the summer.
Jo’s Cheers to the Ocean Weekend
Our #CheersToTheOceanUK competition winner Jo Moseley recently jetted off to Biarritz for her weekend of surfing, litter picking and exploring. See what she got up to in her personal blog of the weekend.
Our winner Jo says ‘Cheers to the Ocean’
Jo Moseley is no stranger to beach clean-ups. Normally that’s on the North Yorkshire coast – but thanks to Friends of Glass, Jo is off to pick litter in the sunnier climes of Biarritz.
How the Great British Spring Clean and Global Recycling Day can help glass
New beginnings and spring go hand in hand.
Four ways glass can help you lead a sustainable lifestyle
Leading a more sustainable lifestyle is something that has become more prominent in current times.
Friends of Glass 2018 Consumer Survey Results
A survey conducted for Friends of Glass found that 9 out of 10 millennial Europeans have become more conscious of the environmental impact of their consumer habits in the last year.
The Friends of Glass New Year’s resolutions
As we enter 2019, many of us will see the start of a new year as a chance to wipe the slate clean and make positive changes with our New Year’s resolutions.
The 12 days of Christmas
Here at Friends of Glass we've decided to get in the festive spirit and what better way to do so than with the 12 days of Christmas carol.
The NMA and Friends of Glass launch Wishes for the Ocean campaign
It’s time to make those Christmas wishes – and at the UK’s National Marine Aquarium it’s #WishesfortheOcean.
The student guide to recycling glass
We know it’s tough being a student.
Students encouraged to recycle glass in new competition
University first year students in three key sites – York, Cardiff and Oxford, with 32,000 fresher students in total - are being urged to get recycling.
Love the ocean with our competition
Everyone is much more aware of the impact they have on the environment around us – especially the negative impact of ocean littering.
BRITONS URGED TO ‘TOAST THE HEALTH’ OF SEAS IN NEW CAMPAIGN AS THREE OUT OF FOUR CHOOSE GLASS
7 June 2018
On the eve of World Oceans Day, Friends of Glass is inviting everyone to raise their glass to the health of our seas with the launch of the ‘Endless Ocean’ campaign. According to a recent survey carried out by the Friends of Glass community, three out of four Britons rate glass as the most ocean-friendly packaging choice.
POST-BLUE PLANET II SHOPPERS CHOOSE GLASS
The impact of last autumn’s BBC Blue Planet II series, which raised serious concerns about the poor state of our marine systems and oceans, continues to have a profound effect on public attitudes and behaviour. As people try to make more sustainable choices to protect the oceans, glass packaging – famously 100% recyclable and non-toxic - is proving to be a hit with shoppers, as revealed in a new survey by Friends of Glass.
POST-BLUE PLANET II SHOPPERS CHOOSE GLASS
The impact of last autumn’s BBC Blue Planet II series, which raised serious concerns about the poor state of our marine systems and oceans, continues to have a profound effect on public attitudes and behaviour. As people try to make more sustainable choices to protect the oceans, glass packaging – famously 100% recyclable and non-toxic - is proving to be a hit with shoppers, as revealed in a new survey by Friends of Glass.
DUERR’S CASE STUDY
In the second of our occasional blogs that look at the most recent striking and innovative ideas in glass bottle and jar design, we talk to those responsible for turning the humble marmalade jar into a work of art.
ABSOLUT-LY FABULOUS
At Friends of Glass, we love to see the arrival of exciting new bottle and jar designs. In the first of a new occasional series, we talk to those responsible for some of the most recent striking and innovative ideas.
Become a Glass Guardian!
School children have been given the opportunity to become a Glass Guardian - we’ve worked with British Glass and teamed up with the National Schools Partnership to design a new recycling educational programme.
Leeds enjoys a Lidl Recycling Love
Glass recycling in Leeds is set to get a boost this February thanks to a set of brand new glass banks being installed in Lidl’s Halton store carpark from February 12th. The banks join over 700 other bottle banks in the Leeds area, making it easier than ever for the people of Leeds to recycle their glass bottle and jars.
Is more always better?
We’re delighted when people want to recycle more glass – but putting all the glass types found around your home into your household recycling bin or local bottle and jar bank is actually counterproductive.
Does glass really get recycled?
A recent poll revealed that some people don’t bother recycling because they don’t think the material will actually be recycled. We can assure you that this is not true for glass! Glass is never rubbish – it’s a valuable resource. Here are four good reasons to believe that every bottle and jar you use really can and should go on to have another useful life.
Seasonal gift ideas for under £30
As much as we love Christmas, it can turn into a season of excess and waste. To counter this, we’ve come up with some great healthy and sustainable gifts.
Winning on waste
Friends of Glass has been running a competition with Portsmouth City Council to highlight how important and easy it is to recycle glass bottles and jars. We’re pleased to be able to announce the winners – three local residents, the city itself and the planet!
Top 5 new glass bottles and jars
We think glass is great for good reasons - being 100% recyclable and good for protecting food and our health. But sometimes it’s just the clever and creative design in glass that get us excited.
Brightening up Portsmouth Glass Banks!
If you’re going to be in Portsmouth, keep an eye out for some new, space invader themed glass banks. There are six of them, and if you send in a photograph of yourself with them, you could win a share of £250 worth of Love to Shop vouchers.
Recycle Week message matters
Glass is great when it comes to recycling. All bottles and jars are 100% recyclable and just about every part of the country has a system in place for households to recycle their glass packaging when it’s finished with.
What goes around, comes around.
It’s Recycle Week and this year’s theme - What goes around comes around - inspires us to enjoy the benefits of creating a circular economy - where we make, use and recycle. This is in contrast to the unsustainable make, use, discard linear economy. Recycle Week is great opportunity to learn more, find ways to recycle more, and get more people involved.
Striving for zero glass waste
When you throw something away, it doesn’t magically disappear. It goes to landfill, an incinerator or litters the land or ocean. But when you recycle, you reduce waste.
Don’t believe the wine box hype – keep recycling!
Glass is a friend when it comes to reducing landfill waste
We recently came across an article on BBC website which shares some new shocking statistics on plastic pollution and how Earth is slowly becoming a 'Planet Plastic'.
Recycling Hero Leeds Campaign Success
Last month we ran a very exciting recycling campaign in Leeds in partnership with the local council and M&S Moortown store. The initiative is part of a drive to raise awareness of just how easy it is to recycle glass packaging, and to encourage people to recycle all their empty glass bottles and jars.
NAME YOUR RECYCLING HERO AND WIN SUPERMARKET VOUCHERS
Did you know that International World Environment Day celebrations take place on Monday 5 June? To mark this important environmental event, we thought it would be fun to run another exclusive Facebook competition for you, our fellow glass lovers! It’s easy to enter – just read on.
Raise a Glass for World Milk Day
Happy World Milk Day to all Friends of Glass.
Friends of Glass UK, M&S and Leeds City Council #RecyclingHero challenge
Friends of Glass UK launched initiative with Marks & Spencer and Leeds City Council to make consumers aware of the benefits of recycling glass.
Give your glass a new life – and help Leeds recycle more glass. Be a recycling hero!
From Sat 22 April until Sat 6 May you’ll be able to recycle bottles and jars at Marks & Spencer’s Moortown store on Harrogate Road. Look for the decorated glass banks in the car park.
Sky Ocean Rescue – Removing Plastics from Our Seas
Over eight million tons of plastic enters the ocean each year, killing sea life. Now, new evidence says it's also entering our food chain with unknown health effects.
Glass Recycling in Your Own Community: Friends of Glass Goes Local!
This year the Friends of Glass team has teamed up with local authorities in Portsmouth and Leeds to encourage residents to recycle more glass.
Delicious Noodle Pots Recipe
We are big fans of the Great British Bake Off and delicious recipes in glass, so when we saw this recipe by one of the baking programme’s finalists, Tamal Ray, on the Guardian’s website we couldn’t resist to share it with you.
Five Pinterest-Worthy Tutorials to Try This December
Here at Friends of Glass we love do it yourself tutorials and with Christmas just around the corner, we rounded up our favourite crafts and recipes for you to try during this festive season.
Glass – not just for slippers!
Thousands braved the rain in London to watch the annual Lord Mayor's Show in London on Saturday and what a show it was. We were delighted to be one of the sponsors of the Glass Seller’s float, which featured a model of a giant glass slipper, drawing inspiration from the fairytale classic, Cinderella.
5 DIY ideas to make your Halloween extra spooky
With Halloween just around the corner we thought we would share some great glass-themed easy to make ideas for this frightening season. Use these tutorials to get creative with your decorations and bring all the family and friends together.
Welcome to the Friends of Glass Recycle Week Facebook competition
We are very excited about this year’s Recycle Week, and to make it even better, we have decided to run an exclusive Facebook competition.
Why packaging matters
The average household in the UK buys 4,000 packaged products a year, including food. That’s 4,000 decisions to make; not only on what product or brand to choose, but also what type of material it’s packaged in.
Why Go Plastic Free This July
For those who didn’t know yet, Plastic Free July is a simple idea developed in 2011. It aims to raise awareness of the amount of plastic in our lives, by encouraging people to eliminate the use of single-use plastic during July each year.
Glass has Endless Lives: Talking Bottles
Did you know glass has endless lives? These surprised shoppers didn’t. Glass is infinitely recyclable and the safest packaging for the environment. If you want to play your part in preserving the planet, choose glass and buy glass.
Recycling Magic
Those clever people at Recycle Now have teamed up with a magician to create some mind-boggling street magic tricks highlighting how glass packaging items can be transformed into new things.
Glass = Health
A few weeks ago we came across the article “That Plastic Container You Microwave In Could Be Super-Toxic” from Time, which raises some interesting points about food safety and the notion that a "Microwave-safe" label doesn't necessarily mean what you may think it does.
The Return of the Milk Bottle
Over the past few weeks, the Friends of Glass team have noticed a number of articles in the news all talking about the latest trend in the milk market – glass bottles!
Can age define how much you know about recycling?
Our new survey highlighted that when it comes to awareness about glass recycling, age is a very important factor.
Should Glass Milk Bottles Make a Comeback to the Supermarket Shelves?
It’s a no brainer that glass and milk go hand in hand. Not only does glass help keep milk fresher for longer, but it also ensures that it retains all its taste and goodness. Those who read our exclusive interview with the world’s first milk sommelier, Bas de Groot, will know that if you want to taste milk like a sommelier, you definitely need to use glass to keep the taste intact. Even dairy farms agree that glass is the best option for storing milk:
When it Comes to Recycling, Age Matters
Europeans are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of recycling food and drink packaging but according to our survey it appears the older generations are more informed and committed than younger ones.
Recycle Glass From All Around Your Home
Most of us know we can recycle bottles and jars either at bottle banks or through our council’s kerbside collection. But how many of us are recycling all the items we can? Besides the usual food and drink containers, what about glass bottles and jars from around your home? Think perfume bottles, medicine bottles and beauty products.
Be Prepared for Recycle Now’s ‘Ready, Set, Recycle’ challenge with the Scout Association
We are excited to see a great new collaboration between the Recycle Now campaign and The Scout Association. Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts across England and Wales are taking part in an environmental challenge to recycle packaging materials from all around the home.
Get Ready for Spring with Glass
Soon spring will be upon us, although it certainly doesn’t feel like it. With frost thick on the ground and snow in London (who would of thought?!), the idea of spring cleaning will have most people cowering under the duvet! However, once the days get longer and lighter and daffodils start to bud, there’s nothing better than sprucing up the home ready to welcome the year ahead.
Go Nuts for Peanut Butter Day
Who doesn’t love peanut butter? Crunchy, smooth and rich; it comes in different varieties to suit everyone’s palate and what better way to celebrate International Peanut Butter Day than create your own, stored beautifully in a glass jar, of course! ☺
Healthy lunch on the go, in glass jars!
It’s January and for many of us this month heralds the inevitable backlash against the indulgence of food and drink during the Christmas period. While there’s no shortage of advice on getting fit and healthy: gyms, the latest diets and the new super-foods, the expense, time and effort these things take can be overwhelming.
BEER AND FESTIVE FOOD PAIRINGS
Wine has long worn the crown as the preferred drink to serve with Christmas lunch but one drinks expert is standing up for beer this year. Jane Peyton, Friends of Glass ambassador and the UK’s first Beer Sommelier of the Year (2014-2015) wants to bring beer out of the pub and onto the dining table.
The Big Smoke Winter ‘Cockt-Ale’ Recipe
It’s the season of hosting, and what better way to entertain your nearest and dearest than with a Friends of Glass Christmas cocktail. Get in the festive spirit by making this fantastic cocktail by our brilliant Friends of Glass Ambassador Jane Peyton, the UK’s first Beer Sommelier of the Year (2014-2015).
5 Ways to Decorate For Christmas Using Glass
Snowflakes are falling, knitwear is finding its way out of the closet, and the frost is biting our noses – winter has arrived!
Friends of Glass Gift Guide: 7 Glassy Gifts for Under £50
Great, unique and glassy Christmas presents for everyone. Hopefully, our gift guide will help you find the perfect present – no matter how big or small – for all your family and friends.
Meet The World’s First Milk Sommelier
Here at Friends of Glass, we can never resist a nice glass of milk poured from a cool glass milk bottle (of course)! It might surprise those of you who think that the doorstep delivery went out with black and white TV that every day, the UK’s 5 000 milkmen and women deliver to around 2.5 million homes. After all, who doesn’t like their milk delivered straight to their home or workplace?
If you are as big a milk enthusiast as we are, you probably already know that glass helps keeps milk fresher for longer and ensures that it retains all its taste and goodness. That’s why when we came across Bas de Groot ,the world’s first milk sommelier, we were keen to learn more about his work.
Are Brits really bland when it comes to taste?
In the past six months, over 29,000 people from 30 European countries took part in the Friends of Glass online quiz to find out how our taste preferences are affected by where we live. The final results revealed some interesting results and surprising connections between the British and the French.
All Aboard! Beer Tasting With a Difference
Last week we invited bloggers and journalists to enjoy an exclusive tour onboard a classic Route master London bus, while experiencing a very special beer tasting. Our guests learnt why glass bottles are best for preserving the taste of beer, and which beers matched well with that most traditional of British institutions – afternoon tea.
Add Colour to Your Kitchen with this DIY Tutorial
Love to get crafty? Then you will love this colourful do-it-yourself tutorial that will add glamour to your glassware.
Recreate the look: lace jars for wedding drinks
Having an autumn wedding? Why not incorporate this lace jar look for your reception drinks.
Make Every Week Zero Waste Week with Glass
National Zero Waste Week 2015 is here! It will take place on 7th- 13th September and we would like to encourage everyone to be a part of it. Give yourself the ultimate eco challenge and live your life for seven days with creating as little new waste for landfills as possible
Glass and Milk – the Perfect Partnership
An insight into the wonderful combination of fresh milk and glass.
A beer-drinkers’ guide to choosing the right glassware
As any beer lover who’s ever been to Belgium will know, the stemmed glass the beer is served in is all part of the experience. However, how many realise that the shape of the glass isn’t just for show, it influences how the beer will taste. In some cases, breweries have been known to design the glass first, and create the beer second!
Size Matters: Survey shows glassware has impact on women’s view of beer
A recent Friends of Glass survey has revealed some interesting insights into female attitudes to beer, the UK’s favourite alcoholic tipple.
It’s Recycle Week – are you missing tricks?
This year Recycle Week takes place 22-28 June, the theme is recycling around the home and Friends of Glass wants to help you recycle more, by highlighting glass items in the home that can be recycled but sometimes get overlooked
Come and see Friends of Glass at Taste of London
From 17-21 June, Regent’s Park will be taken over by Taste of London, the UK’s best-loved festival for fans of good food and drink.
Join in cheers for Britain’s National Beer Day
Organisers of the first ever Beer Day Britain are encouraging the nation to celebrate its favourite alcoholic beverage by joining in cheers at 12.15pm on Monday 15th June.
Tastebuds go Proper Nutty for glass
We recently discovered the great Yorkshire-based peanut butter company, Proper Nutty.
Meet Jane Peyton
British Beer Sommelier of the Year 2014 - 2015
Meet Britain’s Beer Sommelier of the Year – Jane Peyton
As summer draws nearer, we’re looking ahead to this year’s Taste of London in Regent’s Park. The five-day event will bring together top chefs, restaurants and food producers to create a culinary extravaganza not to be missed.
Glass – the ultimate reuseable material
Glass is definitely one of those special materials, which we not only use on a daily basis, but which we truly connect with. It’s the foremost packaging material that people feel inspired to save, re-use, collect and display. Many people also use glass as an integral part of their home design, and just like the saying “home is where the heart is”, many people feel a real connection with the material.
Easter inspiration for glass lovers
It’s here! Easter is upon us and we have four days off to indulge and entertain. We think you’ll agree we’ve found something for everyone, whether a kids party, sit down meal or grown up drinks – here are five of the best Easter DIY projects for all occasions:
Make Earth Hour magical with glass
Friends of Glass are big fans of Earth Hour and every year we join the rest of the world by switching our lights off for one hour on 28th of March.