Everyday Examples of Recyclable Glass Items (And What to Do With Them)

The Best Everyday Examples of Recyclable Glass Items

Let’s start where the action happens: your kitchen counter and your recycling bin. Some of the best examples of recyclable glass items are the ones you use without even thinking about them.

Think about a typical week:

You buy pasta sauce in a clear glass jar, orange juice in a glass bottle, pickles in a green jar, and maybe a six-pack of craft beer in brown glass bottles. When you’re finished, these are all solid examples of recyclable glass items in most curbside programs across the U.S. and many other countries.

Recycling facilities are set up to handle this kind of container glass. It’s designed to melt and be turned into new bottles and jars again and again. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, glass can be recycled endlessly without losing quality, and in 2022, Americans recycled more than 3 million tons of glass containers.¹

So if you’re looking for a simple rule of thumb: if it’s a bottle or a jar that held food or drink, it’s probably recyclable in your local glass program.

Kitchen Examples of Recyclable Glass Items

Your kitchen is the gold mine here. The most common examples of recyclable glass items show up on your pantry shelves and in your refrigerator.

Food jars: some of the best examples

Food jars are classic, everyday examples of recyclable glass items that almost every household has:

• Pasta sauce jars
• Salsa jars
• Jam and jelly jars
• Pickle jars
• Olives and capers jars
• Nut butter jars (if they’re glass, not plastic)
• Baby food jars

Once they’re empty, these jars are usually accepted in curbside glass recycling programs. Rinse them out, remove as much food residue as you reasonably can, and toss them in the bin. Labels and small bits of glue are usually fine; most facilities can handle them.

If you like real-world, practical examples of reuse before recycling: pasta sauce jars are perfect for leftover soup, homemade dressings, or storing dry goods like rice and lentils. Reuse first, recycle when the jar is too chipped, stained, or cluttering your cabinets.

Beverage bottles: another clear example of recyclable glass

Bottles are another big category where examples of recyclable glass items are easy to spot:

• Wine bottles (clear, green, or brown)
• Beer bottles
• Cider and kombucha bottles
• Sparkling water and soda bottles
• Cold brew coffee bottles
• Glass juice bottles

Most of these are made from the kind of glass that recycling systems are designed to process. In deposit states (like California, New York, Michigan, and others), these bottles often carry a small refund value, so returning them through bottle deposit programs can boost recycling rates even higher.²

If you’re hunting for the best examples of glass items with a high chance of being recycled into new containers, wine and beer bottles are high on that list. They’re produced in huge volumes and have an established market for recycled content.

Bathroom and Laundry Room: Surprising Examples of Recyclable Glass Items

The kitchen usually gets all the attention, but your bathroom and laundry area are full of examples of recyclable glass items too.

Bathroom glass containers

Take a look around your bathroom sink and shower caddy. Real examples include:

• Glass perfume or cologne bottles
• Glass skincare containers (serums, oils, moisturizers)
• Glass jars for face cream or body butter
• Glass containers for bath salts

Many of these are technically recyclable glass, but there are two catches:

1. Some are made of thicker or decorative glass, which can behave differently in recycling systems.
2. Pumps, droppers, and metal or plastic lids usually need to be removed.

If your local program accepts “glass bottles and jars,” these bathroom containers are often acceptable once you remove pumps and as much leftover product as possible. When in doubt, check your city or county recycling guidelines.

Laundry room and cleaning products

In the laundry room or under the sink, examples of recyclable glass items might include:

• Glass bottles for eco-friendly cleaning sprays
• Glass containers for laundry fragrance oils
• Glass jars of powdered cleaners or stain removers

Again, lids and pumps are usually a separate material, but the glass body often belongs in the recycling bin—once it’s empty and reasonably clean.

Glass Items That Look Recyclable but Usually Aren’t

Here’s where it gets tricky. Not every glass item is created equal, and some things that feel like a perfect example of recyclable glass actually cause big problems at recycling facilities.

These are real-world examples of glass items that usually should NOT go in curbside glass recycling:

• Drinking glasses (tumblers, wine glasses)
• Oven-safe glass cookware (like certain bakeware brands)
• Window glass and mirrors
• Glass tabletops
• Light bulbs (including many LEDs and CFLs)
• Pyrex-style heat-resistant glass

Why? They’re made from different glass formulas that melt at different temperatures from container glass. When these pieces sneak into a batch of recyclable bottles and jars, they can weaken the new glass products.

Some local programs run separate collection or drop-off for items like light bulbs or window glass, but they almost never want them mixed in with regular glass containers. The EPA and many local governments stress the importance of keeping non-container glass out of regular glass recycling streams for exactly this reason.³

So, if you’re looking for examples of recyclable glass items, focus on bottles and jars first. If it’s flat, heat-resistant, or shaped like drinkware, it probably doesn’t belong in your curbside glass bin.

How to Prepare Recyclable Glass Items the Right Way

Even the best examples of recyclable glass items can be rejected if they’re tossed into the bin in bad shape. The prep work isn’t complicated, but it does matter.

Rinse, but don’t obsess

You don’t need to scrub every jar until it shines, but removing most of the food or liquid helps avoid contamination and pests. A quick rinse with leftover dishwater is usually enough.

Some practical examples include:

• Swirl a bit of water in a pasta sauce jar, shake, and pour the rest into your compost or trash.
• Fill a jam jar halfway with warm water, put the lid back on, shake, and pour out.

Lids and labels

Most programs ask you to remove metal lids and plastic caps. Those may be recyclable separately, depending on your system. Labels and glue can usually stay on; modern recycling plants are built to burn or wash those off.

Broken glass

Here’s a common question: if a glass bottle breaks, is it still an example of recyclable glass? Technically, yes—the material is still glass. But many curbside programs prefer that broken glass not go into the bin because it’s dangerous for workers and can damage sorting equipment.

If your city has a separate glass drop-off system, that’s often the safest place for broken glass. Always check local guidance; some areas specifically say “no broken glass” in curbside bins.

Trends in Glass Recycling (2024–2025)

Glass recycling is changing, and that affects how your examples of recyclable glass items are handled once they leave your curb.

More glass-only drop-off sites

In some regions, especially where single-stream recycling has led to contamination, cities are shifting to glass-only drop-off bins. That means your bottles and jars stay cleaner and are more likely to be turned into new containers instead of being landfilled.

States like Colorado and parts of Texas have been expanding dedicated glass drop-off programs to improve glass recovery rates and reduce breakage in mixed recycling systems.

Growing use of recycled glass in new products

Manufacturers are under increasing pressure—from both policy and consumers—to use more recycled content in their packaging. Many beverage and food brands now advertise their use of “post-consumer recycled glass,” which comes directly from the kinds of examples of recyclable glass items you put in your bin.

Using recycled glass (cullet) in new bottles can reduce energy use and emissions compared to using raw materials. The Glass Packaging Institute notes that recycled glass can significantly cut energy demand in glass furnaces and reduce raw material use.⁴

Local rules matter more than ever

One city might welcome every clean bottle and jar, while another might only accept glass at specific drop-off centers. With changes in recycling markets, it’s become even more important to check your local rules instead of assuming.

Many municipal websites now have detailed lists of examples of recyclable glass items specific to your area—down to whether a certain color of glass is accepted.

Real-World Examples of Recyclable Glass Items by Room

To make this practical, let’s walk room by room and call out clear, real examples of recyclable glass items you might spot today.

In the kitchen

Real examples include:

• A green bottle from last night’s wine
• A clear jar from store-bought salsa
• A brown beer bottle from the weekend
• A small glass jar that held pesto or tapenade
• A tall bottle that once had vinegar or soy sauce

All of these are classic, high-value examples of recyclable glass items in most programs.

In the bathroom

Look for:

• A nearly empty glass serum dropper bottle (remove the dropper)
• A thick glass jar that held face cream
• A small glass bottle of bath oil

These are good examples of glass containers that might be accepted, as long as your local guidelines say “glass bottles and jars” and you’ve removed pumps or droppers.

In the living room and home office

Fewer examples of recyclable glass items show up here, but you might still find:

• A glass bottle candle holder (if it started life as a wine bottle)
• A decorative jar that originally held food or drink

If it was originally a food or beverage container, it’s often still a viable example of recyclable glass once you’re done using it decoratively.

FAQ: Common Questions About Examples of Recyclable Glass Items

What are the most common examples of recyclable glass items at home?

The most common examples of recyclable glass items are food and beverage containers: wine and beer bottles, salsa and pasta sauce jars, jam and jelly jars, pickle jars, and glass bottles for juice or sparkling water. These are the container types that most recycling programs are designed to handle.

Are perfume bottles an example of recyclable glass?

Perfume and cologne bottles are often an example of recyclable glass, but they’re a bit more complicated. The glass itself is usually fine, but pumps, metal collars, and decorative elements need to be removed if possible. Some local programs accept them with other bottles and jars; others do not. Always check your city’s accepted materials list.

Do I need to remove labels from recyclable glass items?

In most cases, no. Labels, paper, and glue on jars and bottles are burned off or removed during the recycling process. The more important step is rinsing out leftover food or liquid. So while labels don’t disqualify an item as an example of recyclable glass, heavy contamination with food can.

Are drinking glasses and window glass examples of recyclable glass items?

They’re glass, but they are usually not accepted as examples of recyclable glass items in curbside programs. Drinking glasses, windows, mirrors, and oven-safe glass are made from different glass types that melt at different temperatures. Mixing them with bottles and jars can cause defects in new containers. Many communities ask you to dispose of these separately.

What are some examples of glass items I should definitely recycle if my program accepts glass?

If your local program accepts glass, some of the best examples of recyclable glass items to prioritize are: wine and beer bottles, condiment jars (like mustard, mayo, and salsa), sauce jars, glass beverage bottles (juice, soda, sparkling water), and baby food jars. These are high-volume, high-demand container types in the recycling system.

Recycling glass doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Once you start noticing the patterns—bottles and jars are in, most other glass is out—you’ll see examples of recyclable glass items all over your home. Pay attention to your local rules, rinse things out, and let those jars and bottles live another life instead of ending up in a landfill.