Catalog Contact Us Legal News & Stories English OUR STORY OUR CAPABILITIES SUSTAINABILITY CAREERS INVESTORS How Glass Bottles and Jars are Made When lightning strikes sand, nature makes glass. For more than 100 years, O-I Glass has recreated Mother Nature’s magic by combining natural materials and heat to make glass bottles and jars. Our passion for making glass lies in its endless benefits, from the health of the planet to the health of families. We love glass. Glass Container Manufacturing Process Previous Cullet Glass packaging is made of three natural ingredients: silica sand, soda ash and limestone. The materials are mixed with recycled glass, called “cullet.” Cullet is the main ingredient in O-I’s glass bottles and containers. Globally, our glass containers contain an average of 38% recycled glass; we’ve manufactured glass bottles with as much as 90% recycled glass in Europe. Together, these four ingredients—sand, soda ash, limestone, and recycled glass–make up the batch mixture. Next 1 2 3 4 5 6 Inspecting Glass Bottles and Jars Each glass bottle and jar is put through a series of inspections to ensure it meets O-I’s highest standards. Multiple high-resolution cameras inside machines scan as many as 800 glass bottles each minute. The cameras sit at different angles and can catch miniscule defects. Another part of the inspection processes includes machines exerting pressure on the glass containers to test wall thickness, strength and if the container seals correctly. O-I’s experts also manually and visually inspect random samples to ensure quality. If a glass bottle or glass jar doesn’t pass inspection, it goes back into the glass manufacturing process as cullet. Containers that pass inspection are prepared for transportation to food and beverage manufacturers, who fill them and then distribute to grocery stores, restaurants, hotels and other retail locations for shoppers and customers to enjoy. Glass is endlessly recyclable, and a recycled glass container can go from the recycle bin to store shelf in as little as 30 days. So once consumers and restaurants recycle their glass bottles and jars, the glass manufacturing loop starts again. Inside the O-I Glass Making Process If you want to see O-I’s glass manufacturing process in action, head to our interactive experience: Inside the O-I Glass Making Process. WATCH THE GLASS MAKING PROCESS CONNECT WITH US OUR STORY Leadership Innovations How Glass Bottles and Jars are Made OUR CAPABILITIES Glass Benefits Success Stories Market Trends Solution Catalogs SUSTAINABILITY Glass Recycling INVESTORS Company News Filings Annual Reports Webcasts and Presentations Stock Information Ownership Summary Analyst Estimates Analysts Corporate Governance Investor FAQs Email Alerts CAREERS CATALOG LEGAL Legal Documents – Americas Legal Documents – Asia Legal Documents – Europe UK Modern Slavery Act Disclosure Statement CONTACT Americas Asia Europe NEWS & STORIES Online Media Center News Release Archives WE USE COOKIES, AND OTHER THIRD-PARTY TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES LIKE GOOGLE ANALYTICS, TO COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT OUR WEBSITE’S PERFORMANCE TO HELP CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE IT. BY CLICKING ‘AGREE,’ YOU AGREE TO THE USES OF THESE COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PRIVACY POLICY. AGREE