NEW FACEBOOK GAME GETS PEOPLE TO RECYCLE GLASS

The  European  container  glass  industry  supports  the  initiative  which  turns  the socially responsible act of recycling into a fun social media game.

 

“Pass  the  bottle”  wants  the  more  than  5,000  Friends  of  Glass  Facebook  fans  throughout Europe and the world to get to action by recycling a virtual glass bottle and by inviting new friends to do the same. As in real life, the game shows that the social act of glass recycling is rewarding  for  the  environment.    These  fans  are  part  of  more  than  15,000  Friends  of  Glass group members who will be invited to join the social game and have a chance to be rewarded for their action. 

 

“The  game  is  our  way  of  calling  on  people  to  make  a  simple  and  priceless  gesture  for  the environment” – says Niall Wall, President of FEVE – the European Container Glass Federation.  “We encourage citizens to recycle more and show them how to do it in a funny way amongst friends. Facebook is the perfect way to do this”.  The game consists in sharing a good moment with friends by passing each other a virtual glass bottle of a delicious drink until the bottle is emptied and successfully recycled. The one who recycles the bottle is the winner because recycling glass is a win‐win for people and for the environment.

 

As it is fundamental to keep glass recycling as pure as possible, the game also brings people to information  sites  to  explain  how  to  be  a  good  recycler  by  showing  them  what  not  to  throw into the bottle bank.  

 

According to latest data  (1), each year more than 25 billion glass bottles and jars are collected for recycling throughout Europe. And for about forty years – when the system was set up in Europe  ‐  figures  go  on  increasing.  Glass  manufacturers,  collectors,  processors,  public authorities and above all citizens pool their efforts to preserve the planet where we live.  

 

Glass  recycling  has  a  dramatic  impact  on  waste  prevention  and  energy  saving,  it  reduces pollution and depletion of natural resources. And European consumers know it: almost half of European  families  rank  glass  as  their  number  one  environmentally  friendly  packaging product(2).  And  some  80%  know  that  glass  is  recyclable  into  the  same  or  similar  packaging without loss of quality, far outperforming any other packaging material. 

 

Join Friends of Glass 

More  and  more  consumers  vote  for  glass  by  becoming  Friends  of  Glass  because  they  are increasingly  sensitive  to  the  guarantees  a  packaging  material  can  give  when  it  comes  to environment, health and preservation of the nutritional value of food and drinks. Join them on www.friendsofglass.com 

 

To play the Pass the Bottle game, join us on www.friendsofglass.com   

 

About Friends of Glass 

Friends of Glass is a self‐fed European consumer forum that supports and promotes the right of  consumers  to  be  able  to  choose  food  and  drink  products  in  glass packaging.    It  unites  all those  who  believe  glass  is  the  clear  choice  for  themselves,  their  families  and  for  the environment.  Friends  of  Glass  was  initiated  in  2009  by  the  European  Container  Glass Federation  (or  FEVE)  in  response  to  a  pan‐European  survey  commissioned  by  FEVE  in September 2008 and carried out by the independent research institute InSites, which found that 74% of European consumers prefer glass packaging for their food and drinks.  

 

About FEVE 

FEVE (The European Container Glass Federation) is the association of European manufacturers of glass packaging containers and machine‐made glass tableware. The federation represents the glass container industry at the international, and especially European, level and serves as a  forum  for  examining  common  questions.  FEVE  maintains  a dialogue  with  the  European institutions and agencies on environmental, trade and other important issues. The federation promotes  glass  packaging  and  glass  recycling,  complementing  the  activities  of  the  glass industry at the national level.

 

About the InSites survey 

A  follow  up  survey  by  the  independent  market  research  agency  InSites  was  carried  out  in December  2010,  covering  17  European  countries  (UK,  The  Netherlands,  Germany,  France, Poland,  Austria,  Czech  Republic,  Belgium,  Hungary,  Portugal,  Spain,  Italy,  Greece,  Turkey, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland). In each country, around 500 consumers, aged between 18 and 55,  completed  the  on‐line  questionnaire.  The  latest  results  confirm  once  again  that  74%  of consumers still prefer glass..

 

About Glass 

Glass is made from natural, sustainable raw materials, abundant in nature such as sand, soda ash and limestone. It is the preferred packaging for consumer health and for the environment. It  is  chemically  inert,  100%  and  infinitely  recyclable,  refillable,  and  reusable.  As  primary packaging, glass containers ensure the preservation, safe delivery and attractive presentation of a vast array of consumer products, supplied to European and world markets. Whether used for drinks, food, cosmetics, perfumes or pharmaceuticals, glass plays a vital role in supporting European trade and commerce.

 

For more information please contact:

Michael Delle Selve, Communications and Operations Manager, FEVE 

E‐mail: m.delleselve@feve.org, Direct Line: +32 (0)2 536 00 82, Mobile: +32 475 52 24 58 

 

ENDS

 

(1)

See Recycling Statistics on FEVE website 

(2)

See InSites figures on FEVE website