School partnership reaps recycling rewards at Ardagh Glass Packaging-Doncaster

Published: September 18, 2020

Children, parents and teachers from a local primary school in Doncaster, UK paid a visit to Ardagh Glass Packaging’s production facility to learn more about how glass is made. The group learned how recycled glass is manufactured into new glass containers and were very inspired to recycle their own empty glass bottles and jars.

One enthusiastic parent enquired if a glass recycling bank could be installed on the school premises. The team at Doncaster organised with glass collection company, URM UK Ltd, to house two mixed glass bottle banks on the school’s grounds. Parents, teachers and children can now recycle their empty glass containers as part of their daily journey to the school.

The banks were installed in November 2019 and within eight months they were almost full. When URM UK Ltd. collected the two mixed banks they estimated that the school collected 1.12 tonnes of glass which equates to a saving of 650 tonnes of CO₂. Before the banks were installed, local families said they didn’t have easy access to glass recycling, as the nearest banks were located across a busy road. As a result, many families attending the school were previously disposing of their empty glass in their general waste.

Our team at Doncaster is thrilled that this educational community initiative has successfully diverted more than a tonne of glass from landfill.