The Gloine Chronicles:
Focus USA - Glass Industry - Year 2021
News Column
January/February of 2021
Year 2020 has been eventful for the glass industry in the United States of America. The COVID-19 coronavirus
has impacted portions of the industry, some in a positive way, some in a negative way. A major business in
the industry entered – and exited – bankruptcy proceedings during 2020. Competitive pressures continued as
customers sought out glass products versus other products, like those manufactured with aluminium, to
achieve sustainability. This news column provides an overview of the glass industry within the USA.
Richard McDonough reports.
A creative use of recycled glass was utilised to landscape the American Specialty Glass (ASG Glass)
facility in North Salt Lake City, Utah. ASG Glass is a division of Strategic Materials.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Strategic Materials.)
Overall Statistics
The glass industry in the USA is a major part of the global glass industry. In this news column, we review aspects of the industry in manufacturing, packaging, recycling, and glass fibre. We also detail some of the impact of imports of glass containers from China and the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on the industry.
According to the United States Census Bureau, 93,499 people worked in glass and glass manufacturing in the country in 2018 (the most recent year for this report). This statistic represents an increase from 2016 (90,507), but are still below the levels for 2006 (100,919). The payroll for these individuals was (US) $5,022,396,000 in 2018, an increase from the payroll in 2016: (US) $4,754,118,000.
The value of shipments from glass and glass product manufacturing firms totalled (US) $27,585,735,000 in 2018 (the most recent year for this report), according to the U S Census Bureau. This statistic represents an increase from the value of shipments in 2016 – (US) $26,230,901,000 – and the value of shipments in 2006 – (US) $23,760,248,000.
According to the “Glass Industry” dossier issued by Statista in 2020, using information from Grand View Research as well as Statista estimates, “The United States market for flat glass amounted to an estimated value of nearly 22 billion U S dollars in 2018, and is forecast to increase to almost double that amount by 2025. More than 90 percent of flat glass is produced through the float process.” This dossier from Statista indicated that flat glass market revenue increased from (US) $13.45 billion in 2014, to (US) $21.7 billion in 2018. The firm estimated that flat glass market revenue will reach (US) $43.71 billion in 2025. Forecast figures, according to Statista, have been calculated using a compound annual growth rate of 10.3 percent from 2018 to 2025.
Piramal Glass
The glass manufacturing industry in the USA includes a number of global businesses. Some, like O-I and Libbey Glass, are headquartered in the USA. Others, like Piramal Glass and Gerresheimer, whilst headquartered elsewhere, have major operations in the USA.
Piramal Glass USA Inc is the U S subsidiary of Piramal Glass Private Limited. With corporate offices located in Dayton, New Jersey, Piramal Glass USA has a glass manufacturing operation in Park Hills, Missouri, and a decoration facility in Williamstown, New Jersey.
In addition, the company also has warehouses in Santa Fe Springs, California; in Park Hills, Missouri; and in Dayton, New Jersey.
Vijay Shah is Vice Chairman of Piramal Glass.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Piramal Glass.)
Within the USA, Piramal Glass USA produces Type III Glass in Flint. The firm imports Type I, II and III Glass in Amber and Flint from company facilities in India and Type II and Type III Glass from company operations in Sri Lanka. “We specialise in products for the following segments: Specialty Liquor, Personal Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Food and Distribution,” stated Mr. Vijay Shah, Vice Chairman of Piramal Glass. “We are a vertically integrated company providing value added services, [including]…Screen Printing, Spray Coating, Ink Transfer, Pressure Sensitive Labelling, and PVC Coating.”
Mr. Shah noted major customers of Piramal Glass USA include, among others, Diageo and Bacardi in the Specialty Liquor segment; L'Oréal, Coty, and Revlon in the Personal Care segment; Fresenius Kabi and Bayer in the Pharmaceuticals segment; and J.M. Smuckers and McCormick in the Food and Distribution segment.
Piramal Glass USA focuses its business only on the North America region, according to Mr. Shah. He explained that the firm has done well in this region and expects that growth to continue: “The sales for U S operations for FY 2020 were (US) $131 million. Piramal Glass U S Operations expect to grow by 7-8% in CY 2021.”
Production of dental and pharmaceutical cartridges, including
Insulin pen cartridges, are produced by Gerresheimer in Vineland, New Jersey.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Gerresheimer.)
Gerresheimer
One of the largest global glass companies with operations in the USA is Gerresheimer. According to the company, Gerresheimer has about 10,000 employees working in manufacturing plants in Europe, North America, South America and Asia; revenue approximates €1.4 billion. With its headquarters in Germany, Gerresheimer has glass manufacturing plants in Vineland, New Jersey; Morganton, North Carolina; and Chicago Heights, Illinois.
“We provide Moulded (Type I) and Tubular Type I glass primary packaging solutions for Pharmaceutical, Diagnostics, Food and Beverage, Nutraceutical, and other key packaging segments across North America,” stated Mr. Gary Waller, President of Gerresheimer Glass Inc. “We supply all important pharmaceutical and cosmetics customers with our glass packaging. There are also a substantial number of customers in the food and beverage industry.”
The Americas are an important facet of business for Gerresheimer Glass. “After Europe, the Americas ranks second at Gerresheimer with sales of €381 million,” said Mr. Waller. “Our business has been growing year-over-year based on the strength of our technology innovations, increased product portfolio offerings, and aligned Commercial Sales and Operations groups in the Americas.”
Vaccine development by pharmaceutical companies has increased the demand for glass injection vials.
“We are working together with vaccine manufacturers to prepare for the global COVID-19 vaccination campaigns,” Mr. Waller continued. “For this purpose, we are building additional capacity for the production of injection vials. Beyond this, there are numerous growth opportunities for us. And we are consequently implementing our strategy for profitable and sustainable growth. We are investing in our Company’s future, growing profitably and expect a strong fourth quarter.
The American market is an important market for Gerresheimer. We have been established there for decades and are well connected. We have also invested a lot in our American locations in recent years and created numerous innovations with which we were able to inspire our existing customers and win new customers. We have made our plant in Chicago one of the most modern production sites for container glass in the USA. Our Forest Grove facility produces our Gx Elite Vials, which have set a new standard in patient safety.”
Additional details on the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus at Gerresheimer as well as at other businesses active in the glass industry in the USA are explored below.
Gerresheimer projects continued growth in North America in the years ahead.
“We are well-positioned for 2021 and beyond, with strong growth coming from our Pharma and Non-Pharma customer segments,” noted Mr. Waller. “COVID-19 continues to be something we are tracking not only in our North America business unit, but we anticipate significant growth in 2021 and beyond. We are forecasting strong growth for 2021-2025 and beyond, driven by our core Pharma business, along with our non-Pharma segments. We have forecasted strong profitability and plan to continue to invest in our business significantly in 2021 and beyond.”
NSG
NSG, active in the architectural and automotive glass segments in North America, is continuing its expansion in the USA. In November of 2020, NSG Group began operations at its new 500,000 square foot glass production facility in Luckey, Ohio, according to a statement from the company. The statement indicated that “the float furnace…[produces] TCO (transparent conductive oxide) coated glass for solar panels… With the expanded supply capability for VA [valued-added] products, such as solar glass and other products, NSG Group intends to drive its growth strategy whilst supporting the expansion of renewable energy.”
Glass from Guardian Glass was used at the Conrad Washington D.C. Hotel.
(The photograph was produced by Mr. Eric Petschek and provided courtesy of Guardian Glass.)
Guardian Glass
Creativity and growth have been key elements at Guardian Glass in the USA. In early 2020, the company recognised the leadership of several of its customers. One of those honoured was the Conrad Washington, DC Hotel. “At the hotel’s ground level, ribbons of curved storefront glass wrap a band of retail spaces to engage and activate the public sidewalk whilst reinforcing the street front,” according to a statement from Guardian Glass. “The convex shape of the glass also engages with the scale of the pedestrian, whilst the upper floor facades react directly to the internal hotel functions and the larger urban context whilst emphasising the monolithic aspect of the overall massing.”
The team that developed this project using glass from Guardian Glass included Herzog & de Meuron, Cristacurva, and TSI Exterior Wall Systems providing architectural services, fabrication, and glazier services, respectively.
“The design is very unique; it’s very progressive,” explains Javier Sánchez-Gil, Chief Operating Officer for Cristacurva, an independent Guardian select fabricator. According to Guardian Glass, Cristacurva fabricated approximately 15,000 square feet of curved insulating glass units for the structure’s first floor. The upper floors utilised roughly 11,000 square feet of curved IGUs for angles and corners and approximately 100,000 square feet of flat IGUs. TSI installed all of these glass make-ups.
Year 2020 was also the 50th anniversary of Guardian Glass entry into float glass production. According to the company, “…the first ribbon of glass [was pulled] on August 20, 1970. Up until that point, the company had been a manufacturer of automotive laminated windshields using glass sourced from others.”
“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication to safety of all our employees over the years, and to our customers and suppliers, that our Carleton team has maintained 50 years of float glass production consistently at the highest levels of quality,” says Mr. Ron Vaupel, President and CEO of Guardian Industries.
Puncher’s Chance is produced, aged, and bottled in Kentucky.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Wolf Spirit Distillery.)
Puncher’s Chance
One of major users of glass are businesses active in the food and beverage industries. In August of 2020, the Wolf Spirit Distillery started distribution of Puncher’s Chance, a 100% pure Kentucky Bourbon. As of October of 2020, the product was registered for sale in 14 states; by the end of 2021, Wolf Spirit Distillery indicated that Puncher’s Chance should be available nationally in the USA. In the first three months of sales, revenue was “close to (US) $700,000” according to the business.
“Our core use is related to bottles, which -- in the spirits business – are one of the most essential elements in building brand equity,” stated Mr. Umberto Luchini, Founder and Proprietor of Wolf Spirit Distillery. “One of the ‘core P’s’ of marketing strategy: price, packaging, and promotion. We use 100% new glass.”
According to Mr. Luchini, “Glass has always been the best way to package liquors because they are very delicate liquids and glass does not alter the taste or character notes. We have always used glass to bottle our products. Glass best maintains the integrity and flavor of our products: it guarantees stability, and also communicates the premium quality of Puncher’s Chance. We are expanding very quickly, so I am certain our glass usage will increase.”
Use of aluminium is being considered for certain sizes of the product. “We will not be moving away from glass any time soon,” explained Mr. Luchini. “Whilst in our industry, more and more ‘ready to drink’ brands come in aluminium cans, these are an addition to glass, not a replacement. PET – mainly the so-called ‘traveler’s packs’ – is on a downward trend. We have considered using aluminium cans for small sizes: the standard spirits bottle holds 750mL, the typical larger sizes are 1L and 1.75L, [and] the legal smaller sizes are 375mL, 200mL, 100mL and 50mL; it is for these smaller sizes that we have considered aluminium.”
Competition with aluminium and plastic products as well as further details about the glass packaging industry in the USA are explored in the accompanying news column: Focus USA: Glass Packaging Industry.
Impact of Imports of Glass Containers from China
One of the strongest advocates for the glass industry in the USA has been the United Steelworkers (USW). Members of the USW work in the glass container, flat glass, specialty glass, glass fibre, and other segments of the glass industry. In a letter to the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) dated November 1, 2019, Mr. Thomas Conway, International President of the USW, wrote in favor of the antidumping and countervailing duty investigation of glass containers from China: “The United Steelworkers (USW) represents the majority of workers in the U S container glass industry, including those at Ardagh, Anchor, Owens-Illinois, and Gallo, along with representation in container glass among smaller manufacturers and is fully supportive of this case and the ITC finding injury by reason of the imports from China.”
“As you no doubt know, the U S glass industry has been under heavy pressure from Chinese dumping and U S container glass shipments are down, whilst Chinese imports are up by approximately 30%,” Mr. Conway continued. “The injurious effects are intensifying with the passage of time, alongside the steadily increasing Chinese import volume. Over the last 14 years, 12 glass container manufacturing facilities have closed in the U S resulting in more than 3,500 family-supportive jobs lost in communities across America. In addition to the direct job loss from shuttered plants, the reduction in domestic production results in reduced worker hours at the facilities which currently remain open. We are requesting relief from the injury that this unfair attack by China’s glass producers [have]…brought on
U S glass manufacturing and its workers through an affirmative determination by the Commission.”
Labor unions have been part of the glass industry for more than 175 years. Today, the USW represents about 25,000 members in all segments of the glass industry in the USA. According to the USW, its members work in the “glass container, architectural glass, automotive glass, specialty glass, scientific glass, pharmaceutical glass, glass fibre, and optical glass businesses. The vast majority of these members come to the USW from one of three mergers of predecessor Unions: GMP (2016), AFGWU (2003), and ABG (1996).” The GMP – the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union – traced its roots to 1842. At that time, glass blowers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, organised to represent workers that made green glass in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The American Flint Glass Workers’ Union (AFGWU), was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1878. The ABG – the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers Union – represented workers in those three industries for years.
Glass Recycling
One of the key aspects of the glass industry in the USA is recycling. Glass is one the most recycled products in the United States.
“We are the largest glass recycler in North America, with nearly 50 locations in the U S, Canada, and México,” stated Ms. Laura Hennemann, Vice President of Marketing and Communications of Strategic Materials. “We have been recycling glass since 1896.”
Among glass products recycled by Strategic Materials are beverage and food containers. “We work closely with businesses to provide on-site, closed loop glass recycling back into their manufacturing process or through aggregating glass scrap for recycling at one of our facilities – all which help businesses work towards zero waste,” Ms. Hennemann continued. The business also accepts such items as plate glass-like doors, windows, outdoor furniture, and mirrors at select locations.
“We process recycled glass to meet customer specifications for furnace-ready, recycled glass – aka ‘cullet,’” explained Ms. Hennemann. “Cullet is primarily sold back into glass container manufacturing and glass fibre insulation. We also process glass for highway bead, decorative glass, filler, abrasives, and filtration.”
In certain areas of the USA, glass recycling programmes are quite localised. Ripple Glass is one such entity. This collection and processing company established a metro-wide collection network around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area to collect glass from residents. More than 100 purple recycling bins were placed in convenient locations like grocery store or liquor store parking lots. Individuals are encouraged to drop-off glass products in these recycling bins. According to Ripple Glass, the source separation of containers keeps the glass clean and free of contaminates. This collection network has since expanded to other cities in the Midwest region of the USA.
Ripple Glass provides large recycling containers to businesses like Le Fou Frog Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
(Photograph was provided courtesy of Ripple Glass.)
In addition to securing glass products dropped off by individuals at the free collection containers, Ripple Glass also collects glass products from a number of communities as well as from bars, restaurants, multi-family homes, and other commercial customers. Most of those customers recycle glass food and beverage containers. Other sources of product for Ripple Glass include plate glass manufacturers, recycling centres, and municipal-operated programmes in the region.
“After the glass is collected through our collection programme in Kansas City and from the surrounding states we work with, the glass is brought to our processing facility in Kansas City where it is processed into furnace-ready cullet and bottle cullet,” stated Ms. Lydia Gibson, Director of Sourcing at Ripple Glass. “After the cullet is processed, it is sent to a glass fibre insulation manufacturer and a bottle manufacturer.”
Ms. Gibson noted that these manufacturers “use recycled glass as a substitute for raw materials. The glass fibre insulation melts the furnace-ready glass cullet and spins it into glass fibre insulation. Bottle manufacturers melt the furnace-ready glass cullet and mold it into new bottles.”
“We took the glass recycling rate in the Kansas City Metro from 3% in 2009 to 20% in 2019,” said Ms. Gibson. “We have recycled…[more than] 200,000 tons of glass since 2009… Our business has been steadily growing in 2020, [but] we do not publicly release dollar amounts or units.”
One of the techniques used to encourage glass recycling in the United States is a bottle deposit and return programme. Ten states in the USA as well as Guam have laws that require customers to pay a deposit each time they purchase a product in a beverage container, including glass beverage containers. Whilst the specifics vary from state to state, the overall goals are the same – to encourage recycling of beverage containers.
In Oregon, the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC) administers that State’s bottle deposit and return programme. The organisation collects and processes glass bottles, among other beverage containers, for recycling that have an Oregon refund value.
“Our organisation is a cooperative made up of 227 patrons which represent manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of glass beverage containers covered by Oregon’s Bottle Bill,” explained Ms. Liz Philpott, Public Relations and BottleDrop Give Programme Coordinator of the OBRC. “The deposit law in Oregon covers most single serving beverage containers other than liquor, wine, or milk. So, we collect glass bottles for beer, coffee, kombucha, specialty juices and teas, and more.”
According to the OBRC, there are twenty-five Redemption Centres in Oregon that have reverse vending machines and staff that can hand-count glass beverage containers for returns. In addition, the OBRC indicated that all retailers that sell beverage containers covered by Oregon’s Bottle Bill are also required to take these containers back from customers.
“The public can return glass containers…with a refund value to us or to retailers. We then…sort and process them before transporting them to be recycled,” Ms. Philpott continued. “In 2019, we processed [more than] 239 million glass beverage containers for recycling.”
Beyond glass container recycling, the OBRC has its “Green Bag Programme, which allows our customers to return all their deposit containers (aluminum, plastic, and glass) all in the same bag,” noted Ms. Philpott. “We have forty-plus bag drop doors in Oregon, where customers can drop these bags. We pick them up, process the containers, and credit the customers’ accounts with the refund value.”
The cullet generated from the recycled glass products is utilised in the production of new glass products, especially in the food and beverage segments of the glass industry in the USA.
In addition, cullet is used in the production of other new glass products. For example, glass products for the pharmaceutical segment and the cosmetics segment of the market. “Sustainability is an important strategic goal for Gerresheimer,” said Mr. Waller of Gerresheimer. “The reduction of our CO2 footprint plays an important role. For our Type II and Type III glass, our plants are increasing their usage of post-consumer recycled (PCR) glass and are committed to a greener footprint for Gerresheimer. Over the years, customer interest in sustainable cosmetics packaging has grown steadily. The higher the proportion of recycled glass used, the less energy is required for production. This means that the amount of recycled glass leads to energy savings in the production phase compared to non-recycled glass.”
Problems and Potential Solutions With Glass Recycling
There are major problems with glass consumer product recycling in many areas of the USA. “We believe there are issues with glass collection and recycling across the country, primarily stemming from co-mingled collection,” commented Ms. Gibson of Ripple Glass. “We observe a lack of transparency in the recovery of glass post collection. Therefore, receiving glass that is clean enough to process for end-users and markets is a persistent problem. We have approached this with transparency and source separated collection through drop-off collection.”
“Our largest competitor in the U S is landfill,” stated Ms. Hennemann of Strategic Materials. “Our biggest challenge is competing in areas where it’s less expensive to landfill than recycle. Glass recycling, as with any material in the stream, needs to be economical.”
“We believe one of the biggest challenges in consumer recycling is every city, municipality, township, or state have different recycling programmes and the materials accepted vary,” Ms. Hennemann continued. She explained that it can be difficult for consumers to find accurate information on glass recycling. “Further, the recycling symbols on some products don’t mean what they used to and packaging on the shelf has changed. There are more products today sold in packaging that cannot be recycled which can also result in ‘wishcycling,’ causing a further stream on the single stream collection system.”
“Consumers expect to be able to recycle glass containers,” said Ms. Marissa Segundo of the Glass Recycling Coalition (GRC). “Yet, in the past five years, glass has been targeted for removal from recycling programmes.” The GRC includes more than 25 members from different segments of the glass industry involved in recycling; the coalition was established in April of 2016.
The GRC has highlighted several entities with best practices to encourage recycling. “Removing glass at the start of the sorting process leads to several advantages,” explained Ms. Segundo. By implementing this process, the GRC noted that “Glass does not run through the entire system, which reduces equipment maintenance; sorting of other materials improves; no labor is required; and glass value increases as contamination decreases.”
On the consumer side, GRC encourages individuals and businesses to recycle clean and empty glass bottles and jars avoiding common contaminates like ceramic dishes and containers, light bulbs, and other non-container glass. Items like plastic bottle caps, food waste, and shredded paper are issues in the secondary sorting process.
Impact of COVID-19 on Glass Industry
The impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus has varied depending on the segment of the glass industry in the USA.
“COVID-19 impacted our business across our customer segments,” stated Mr. Waller of Gerresheimer Glass. “The health of our employees is absolutely paramount. In recent weeks and months, we have taken many precautions to ensure this. These include a worldwide pandemic plan, special hygiene regulations, travel and visiting restrictions, working in isolated groups, and other shift patterns. Many thanks to all our employees who are actively helping to achieve this. At the same time, we are doing everything in our power to maintain production. In our plants, we produce vital packaging for medicines, drug delivery devices, and packaging for food, beverages, and hygiene and personal care products. Millions of patients and consumers trust that they will be cared for and we take responsibility for this. We are therefore part of the critical infrastructure of the countries in which we operate. We face up to this responsibility and, together with our dedicated employees, do everything in our power to ensure that our production and thus the care of patients and consumers worldwide is guaranteed.”
Decisions by individual states – the USA operates under a federal system of government – has impacted different businesses in various ways. “The U S operations had some impact on sales in Quarter-2 (2020) due to lockdowns imposed by different states,” explained Mr. Shah of Piramal Glass USA. “However, the company has seen sharp recovery in Quarter-3 (2020) and has a strong order book for Quarter-4 (2020). COVID-19 threat remains an external challenge which can impact the business during 2021 if future lockdowns are imposed by states.”
AGC Glass North America (AGC) has implemented a number of efforts regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus to protect the safety of its employees, customers and suppliers. In a letter dated March 17, 2020, Mr. Mike Antonucci, President of AGC Glass North America, wrote that “Our focus is to protect our employees during this outbreak, and to leverage AGC’s strong systems and processes to minimise any negative impact on our customers. We are confident in our ability to perform and will monitor this situation daily.”
The USW has noted the impact within the glass industry in the USA.
“Many segments of the glass industry have been considered ‘essential,’ so most USW members in the glass industry have continued to work through the pandemic,” according to a statement from the USW. “Although we have had some members test positive for COVID-19 at some glass plants around the country, the vast majority of those cases appear to come from community transmission rather than at work, due to the safety precautions being taken. Auto glass assembly plants (where they turn flat glass into windows and windshields) were shut down for a few weeks this past Spring when the auto assembly plants themselves were shut down, but those are all back in full operation now. The most notable impact was on Libbey which gets a majority of its U S sales from the foodservice segment (bars and restaurants). Libbey shut down its U S factories for two months and went into bankruptcy in June, but had its reorganisation plan approved by the court.” Libbey emerged from bankruptcy on November 16, 2020.
The introduction of a new bourbon product, Puncher’s Chance Kentucky Straight Bourbon, by Wolf Spirit Distillery highlighted an example of the impact of COVID-19 coronavirus: “Whilst people are still consuming plenty of alcohol, it is mainly at home,” stated Mr. Luchini of Wolf Spirit Distillery. “What we are losing out on is in-store tastings, as well as cocktail opportunities in bars and restaurants. These are both very important when you are launching a new brand, because people want to taste a brand before spending (US) $35 to buy a full bottle of it.”
Whilst glass sales to the foodservice industry has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus, aspects of the recycling industry have seen growth during the same time period. “COVID-19 brought unique challenges,” said Ms. Gibson of Ripple Glass. “Due to stay-at-home orders and the easy access to our drop-off recycling bins, we saw a 22% increase in the amount of glass we collected year over year in the Kansas City Metro.”
The COVID-19 coronavirus also impacted Strategic Materials. “Even though we are considered essential business with essential workers, we struggled to receive inbound glass supply,” detailed Ms. Hennemann of Strategic Materials. She noted this was “primarily due to lack of redemption enforcement in deposit states, and the temporary shutdown of bars and restaurants, casinos, sporting events, and more. However, demand for recycled glass for products like glass packaging was high, as people spent more time cooking at home and buying grocery store goods.”
Decisions to enforce or not enforce certain policies because of the COVID-19 coronavirus impacted segments of the glass industry. Oregon is one example.
“COVID-19 significantly impacted glass recycling in Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 for 2020,” according to Ms. Philpott of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative. “Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency and ordered the temporary closure of many retail businesses in March. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates Oregon’s Bottle Bill, did not enforce the requirement for retailers to accept empty beverage container returns from March through May of 2020. Enforcement resumed as counties entered Phase 1 of the Governor’s plan to reopen Oregon. During this time, all BottleDrop Redemption Centres remained open and accepted glass beverage containers from the public.”
The glass industry in the USA will likely continue to see the impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus on operations. Imports from China will also likely continue to be an issue in the glass container segment. Recycling efforts will likely continue to see both promise and difficulties. Promise because a number of segments of the glass industry see value in using cullet, but difficulties will remain until recycling of glass is considered a priority by leaders in local communities throughout the USA. The economics in many communities will likely continue to encourage landfill disposal of glass.
Do you have questions about the glass industry?
Governmental regulations? Company operations?
Your questions may be answered in future news columns.
Contact Richard McDonough at gloinechronicles@gmail.com.
© 2021 Richard McDonough