Recycled glass from Fife is being used to save lives around the world.
In the run up to Recycling Week, which starts on Monday (SEPT 12), Fifers are being urged to remember to recycle glass in bottle banks to help provide clean water across the globe.
Dryden Aqua, a water treatment technology company, recycles Fife Council’s brown and green container glass by turning it into a water filtration system which replaces sand in all types of filters for the treatment of both drinking and waste water.
Most drinking water around the world is treated by sand filters.
However, in warm climes it is much more difficult to treat the water because of high water temperatures and pollution.
In a state-of-the-art plant near Edinburgh, innovative waters filter are putting Fife’s empties to use by bringing disease-free drinking water to countries across the world.
Dryden Aqua’s filtration system is made from tiny glass particles.
After arriving at the plant, bottles are sorted, blasted with water and sterilised before being broken down into tiny particles.
The structure of the glass is then changed into a material which is more bacteria resistant than sand.
Fife’s sustainability champion John Wincott said: “The use of glass to create clean, safe water around the world is an innovative use of our recycling, and is another example of how recycling is becoming a vital element of future development.”
Howard Dryden, the managing director of Dryden Aqua, added: “In India, raw water is grossly contaminated and it is difficult to treat the water to the standards set by the World Health Organisation.
“As a consequence, up to 80% of all disease in India and Africa is from contaminated filtered drinking water.
“In many locations there is no water treatment and disease levels are high, which causes multiple disease incidents among people every year.
“Infant mortality can be as high as 25%, and the elderly and infirm also suffer as a consequence.
“By helping to provide safe drinking water, recycled glass is helping to save lives and improve the living conditions of people around the world – there has never been a better time to recycle your glass bottles.”
Dryden Aqua processes around 50,000 tonnes of glass bottles from Scotland’s homes every year to produce 30,000 tonnes of water filtration media which is exported globally.
To make it easier for the glass to be recycled, householders should remove bottle tops and empty the bottle contents.
