What happens to glass from Exeter?
All glass managed by Exeter City Council passes through the Recycling Park at Exton Road and is sold to Recresco. Green glass (and any mixes of different colours) is shipped to Southampton Docks where it is crushed and passes through an optical sorting plant to separate colours and prepare the glass for remelting by removing labels, lids and lids. The glass cullet is then shipped to recycling plants – sometimes in the UK, but often by ship (at present normally to Spain or Portugal). This is because little green glass is filled in the UK, most being imported wine and beer bottles. About half of the glass collected in Exeter is green. Clear and brown glass is taken straight to Kirkby-in-Ashfield in the Midlands near to some of the main UK glass manufacturing factories. After processing, the cullet is made back into new clear or brown bottles and jars. As much clear or brown glass as could be collected could be recycled in the UK because so much glass is exported filled with spirits, espe
