Owens Illinois (O-I) Canada has achieved keeping glass in the circular economy by helping the city of Montreal to expand its recycling systems.

In January 2020, Montreal’s Minister of Environment announced an expansion of the province’s recycling depository system, its first since 1984.

The updated system will now include wine and spirit bottles in the list of materials Quebec residents can recycle.

The current capacity for recycled glass at the Montreal plant is 70,000 tonnes. With the new system, that number could potentially double. 

Jim Nordmeyer, VP of Global Sustainability at O-I, said: “Our Montreal plant leader Francois Carrier worked tirelessly with Canadian policymakers and provincial ministers to educate them on the benefits of glass recycling as well the economic impact our business has on the local economy.”

The new system will gradually go into effect between 2020 and 2022.

O-I has a goal of reducing greenhouse emissions by 25%. This will help it achieve the goal of increasing the use of post-consumer recycled glass (cullet) from an average of 38% globally to 50% by 2025.