Glass deposited in the purple cans is used to make food and beverage containers, fiberglass insulation, and reflective materials.
Glass bottles and jars are not accepted in most curbside recycling programs throughout the region. Any glass placed in the curbside recycling bin will be landfilled, incinerated, or used as landfill cover.
What happens to the glass bottles and jars I put in the purple container?
Purple cans have cameras to let the county know when they need to be emptied.
Glass from purple cans is consolidated at the I-66 Transfer Station and transported to a glass recycling facility in Pennsylvania.
The glass bottles and jars are sorted by color and processed into cullet. [Photo Credit- O-I Glass]
The glass bottles and jars are sorted by color and processed into cullet. [Photo Credit- O-I Glass]
The cullet is then transported to manufacturing facilities where it is used to make new and food and beverage containers, fiberglass insulation, and reflective materials. [Photo Credit- O-I Glass]
Some of the cullet goes to O-I Glass bottle manufacturing plants in Virginia where it is made into new bottles and jars. [Photo Credit- O-I Glass]
Some of the cullet goes to O-I Glass bottle manufacturing plants in Virginia where it is made into new bottles and jars. [Photo Credit- O-I Glass]
Circular Economy
Did you recycle a glass jar last month? You may be drinking out of it right now! A glass bottle can go from the purple can back to the store in as little as 30 days. Check your glass bottle or jar to see if it was made right here in Virginia. Use the following link to learn how to read a glass bottle manufactured by O-I.
You can recycle glass in Fairfax County, just not in your curbside recycling bin. When glass was mixed with other recycling and placed at the curb, most of it would break in transport and the tiny shards would contaminate the other recyclables which would then be thrown away. Glass at the recycling facility was treated as residue and ultimately incinerated or landfilled. Recycling is charged by the ton and glass was heavy. Recycling collectors paid more for your recycling due to the weight of glass, glass fragments would contaminate the load ruining other recyclables, and the glass ended up in the trash at the recycling facility, where it also could negatively impact material recovery equipment. Removing glass from the curbside mixed (comingled) recycling and collecting it separately created a market for recycled glass.
The Purple Can Club allows glass to be truly recycled. Glass is sold to a recycling company and used to make new food and beverage containers, fiberglass insulation, and reflective materials.
Glass placed in your trash or recycling container will be taken to an incinerator, landfilled, or used as “alternative daily cover” to cover a landfill at the end of each day. The glass will NOT be recycled into new materials.
There are over 24 purple containers throughout Fairfax County and adjacent localities where you can drop off your glass bottles and jars. See the Northern Virginia Glass Recovery Map for container locations.
The purple containers are open and available every day. Please use from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm only to not disturb neighbors with your glass recycling effort.
Clean glass bottles and jars of all colors are accepted.
Glass items not accepted include lamps, light bulbs, ceramics, porcelain, mirrors, windows, and sheet glass.
Rinse as best as possible.
Lids and labels can remain on to be sorted out later during processing.
Natural cork can be composted and synthetic corks can be recycled at certain retailers
Avoid leaving behind cardboard boxes or other non-glass containers (try to use reuseable bags to transport).
Mirrors, windows, vases, ornaments and other glass that is not in the form of a bottle or jar cannot be recycled. They should be taken to the 66 Transfer Station or 95 Landfill Complex for disposal.
Carefully package the glass into a rigid container. Label the package "GLASS" and set out with your trash for disposal.
