O-I Mexico and SILICE, a Chihuahua-based glass recycling company, have inaugurated the first glass recycling hub in Chihuahua, Mexico. This innovative project is set to increase glass recycling in the region.
The new hub is planning to process 300 tonnes of glass per month. Glass is collected locally, then brought to the hub. After processing it there, it will be reused at O-I’s plant in Monterrey, Mexico, providing part of the raw material used in making glass. With energy consumption falling by around three percent for every ten percent of recycled glass, or cullet, used in the manufacturing process, glass recycling is a key factor in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. And it does so in a sustainable way, because glass is the unique packaging material that can be recycled 100 percent over and over again.
“Our goal is to use at least 50 percent recycled glass by 2030. We have taken action in many parts of the world towards this target, and most recently announced our mobile recycling program, MOGRA, in North America,” said Randy Burns, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer for O-I Glass. “This cooperation with SILICE in Mexico is expected to get us yet another step closer.”
SILICE was founded in 2020 by two local entrepreneurs and engineers, Paulina Rascón and Ashly Hinojos. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Paulina and Ashly started the company, focusing on establishing strategic alliances with collection centers, bars, and restaurants for efficient glass collection.
“Seeing how the community has adopted a recycling culture thanks to SILICE has been very rewarding” commented Paulina Rascón, Ashly Hinojos, added: “One bottle can make a big difference. We are committed to continuing to drive this change.”
“We want all actors in the recycling chain and the community in Chihuahua to know that there are options for recycling glass and that they are being supported,” commented Julissa Santa Cruz, Glass Procurement Leader at O-I Mexico.