Glass

Because glass is heavy, comes in different colors, and breaks if handled too roughly in the collection process, it can be difficult to process economically. However Hudson Baylor's roots are in processing glass as part of bottle returns, so we have exceptional expertise in effectively transforming recycled bottles into useable glass commodity ("cullet").

In bottle return states, by far the largest percentage of glass recycling comes from returned beer bottles. Most frequently, beverage distributors collect returned bottles in the beer cases in which they were originally sold. We then ‘decase’ the bottles from their cardboard containers, then the glass is crushed and beneficiated.

Glass is also generated through municipal collection efforts. Both our commingled recycling operations and our MRFs include systems designed to separate glass from other products and sort this glass by color.

Color-Sorting Technology

Hudson Baylor has invested in technology which, through a series of optical screens, sorts broken glass into three colors. This technology has enabled us to provide a higher quality cullet while remaining competitive within the market.

Beneficiation

Many recyclers process glass by crushing it once and sifting out the paper. Hudson Baylor goes a step farther: in 1999 we established our own glass beneficiation line. In this process, the glass is crushed and cleaned to a much finer consistency. Our beneficiated glass is furnace-ready--it can be shipped directly to glass mills and used without further processing.

By adding this valuable step in the recycling process, we are able to provide a much more practical product for our end users at an added value to our clients and to Hudson Baylor.