Kerbside glass recycling will help Portsmouth homes get rid of excess Christmas bottles

People will no longer have to face long queues for overflowing bottle banks thanks to recycling company Just Glass UK’s new scheme.

The firm allows households throughout Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and the surrounding areas to have their glass collected from their doorsteps.

The business has expanded on its standard scheme which provides households with a container to fill each month and has launched a Christmas Collection Scheme that allows people to have an unlimited amount of domestic glass collected.

Co-founder, Ollie Oakley said: ‘The amount of glass waste that households produce typically increases by up to 60 per cent over the Christmas and New Year period.

‘The bottle banks are overwhelmed annually and residents across the region regularly take to social media to complain of overflowing glass waste.

‘As a result a lot of people return home with their bottles rather than disposing of them. This leads to multiple visits, so it takes up a lot of time, in some cases the easier solution is simply the general waste bin at home where it finds its way to landfill.

‘You also have the issue of broken glass. A lot of our bottle banks are in areas with wildlife that can easily be injured if there is broken glass across the floor. It’s an issue year after year, so we thought we’d do our bit to combat the environmental and practical issues.’

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Ollie, from Gosport, along with his business partner and friend, Owen Horsley, from Fareham, launched the company in April to crack down on glass waste.

Ollie said: ‘It’s one of the very few materials that can be recycled endlessly and the energy saved from recycling a single glass bottle is enough to power a laptop for 30 minutes.’

The duo’s customer base is growing. They started with just one single customer in Gosport but now recycle over 2.5 tonnes of glass every month.

The pair have also employed their first member of staff and plan to create even more employment opportunities throughout the area.

Unlimited glass collection costs a one-off payment of £25, while existing customers can bolt it on to their monthly subscription for an additional £10.

Go to justglass.uk

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