Leeds breaks glass ceiling

One of Leeds North East's local councillors has spearheaded a huge increase in recycling across the city.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique represents Chapel Allerton ward and is Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space. He announced that within 1 year of introducing household glass collections to Leeds, the city's glass recycling rates have leapt from 48% to 75%.

Prior to 2024, glass was not collected from household recycling bins, so Leeds residents were forced to take their glass to local recycling centres and bottle banks. The shift to household collections is great example of how Labour's leadership of Leeds City Council is delivering meaningful change for people and planet:

• Nearly 12,000 tonnes of glass was recycled by residents through their green bins in the last year.

• That equates to over 2 million wine bottles per month.

• The recycling has helped save 464 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂e), the equivalent of taking more than 170 cars off the road!

Cllr Rafique said:

“The first year of household glass collections has been a big success so we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone in Leeds for their efforts.

“Let’s all work together to make the second year of glass collections even more successful than the first, to help the environment and the Yorkshire economy so that everyone wins.”

Empty glass bottles and jars are 100 per cent recyclable, with the process able to be repeated endlessly with no loss in quality, delivering significant benefits to the environment.

The council works with contractor HW Martin to sort the glass at its Leeds plant, with over 85 per cent of it being remelted at facilities in Yorkshire to produce new bottles and jars ready for reuse within a month.

The collection service is for any colour of glass bottle or jars, including those for wine, spirits, beer, pop, jam, sauces, coffee jars and spreads. Caps, lids and labels can be left on ready for collection. As part of the Leeds approach to make recycling as simple and easy as possible from home, all glass bottle and jars can go in the green bin; along with paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, foil and metal cans.

The council is keen to build on the success of the first 12 months by encouraging even more glass to be recycled in green bins. Currently 25 per cent of glass bottles and jars are still needlessly being put in black bins and the council is asking residents to encourage everyone to use their green bins to recycle more.

Another option aside from the green bin is to make use of the extensive network of more than 700 glass recycling banks around the city. Each of these banks is able to hold up to 3,000 bottles and jars. This option is particularly helpful after a party or large gathering to dispose of empty glass, or for those who still prefer to make regular trips to their nearest bottle bank.

While glass bottles and jars can be easily remelted and recycled, a few specialised types -such as oven-proof or Pyrex dishes, lightbulbs, and drinking glasses - require different handling due to their unique melting points. These items can still be given a second life by donating them to a local charity shop or responsibly disposing of them at a household waste recycling centre in Leeds.