In fact they make a decision already when they buy the product. Glass is the solidified form of a compound made by melting quartz sand, lime and soda ash. The chemical composition of glass is not an environmental hazard. The real problems are the ones that occur in the environment due to broken glass. The best alternative for the environment is to collect, reuse and recycle the waste glass efficiently.
Lowest priority is to use the glass as landfill.
In Finland many systems are used to reduce the amount of glass waste and to guide the consumers to recycle their glass. Breweries and soft drink plants as well as alcoholic beverage industry have their refill systems . Without refill systems the amount of waste glass in our country would be almost ten times as large as it is now and therefore impossible to reuse with same efficiency. The deposit systems are used to guide consumers to return their glass bottles. The systems are used for bottles of beer, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.