AQA · GCSE · Chemistry
Course version: 8462 · Version from Sept 2018
Glass bottles can be crushed and melted to make different glass products.
Full specification wording
Ways of reducing the use of resources: Glass bottles can be crushed and melted to make different glass products.
Glass is a mixture made mainly from sand, soda ash and limestone.
Checked against the AQA 8462 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 6 of 11
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
Glass is a mixture made mainly from sand, soda ash and limestone. When a glass bottle is recycled, it is collected, sorted by colour, crushed into small pieces called cullet, and then melted in a furnace at high temperature. The molten glass can be moulded or blown into new products, such as new bottles, jars or glass fibres. This is recycling rather than reuse because the original bottle is destroyed and the material is reformed. Recycling glass saves the raw materials needed to make new glass and uses less energy than making glass from scratch, because melting cullet requires a lower temperature than melting the original raw materials. It also reduces the amount of glass sent to landfill.
What earns the marks
- Glass bottles are collected and sorted, often by colour, before processing.
- The bottles are crushed into small pieces, commonly called cullet.
- The crushed glass is melted in a furnace at high temperature.
- Molten glass is shaped into new glass products, such as bottles or jars.
- Recycling glass saves raw materials and can use less energy than making glass from new raw materials.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Saying the bottle is reused when it is melted.
Put it right: Melting and reforming is recycling.
Forgetting that glass must be sorted, usually by colour, before melting.
Put it right: Mixed colours can affect the colour of the new glass.
Claiming glass melts at room temperature.
Put it right: Glass requires a high-temperature furnace to melt.
Exam tips
- Use the term 'cullet' for crushed glass to show precise vocabulary.
- State that the glass is melted and then moulded or blown into new products.
- Link the process to saving raw materials and energy.
- Make clear that the original bottle no longer exists after recycling.
Try the lesson
The start of the Ways of reducing the use of resources: Glass bottles can be crushed and melted to make different glass products. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
What happens to glass bottles when they are recycled?
Listen
Glass is a mixture made mainly from sand, soda ash and limestone. When a glass bottle is recycled, it is collected, sorted by colour, crushed into small pieces called cullet, and then melted in a furnace at high temperature. The molten glass can be moulded or blown into new products, such as new bottles, jars or glass fibres. This is recycling rather than reuse because the original bottle is destroyed and the material is reformed. Recycling glass saves the raw materials needed to make new glass and uses less energy than making glass from scratch, because melting cullet requires a lower temperature than melting the original raw materials. It also reduces the amount of glass sent to landfill. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Glass bottles are collected and sorted, often by colour, before processing. The bottles are crushed into small pieces, commonly called cullet. The crushed glass is melted in a furnace at high temperature. Molten glass is shaped into new glass products, such as bottles or jars. A common slip: Saying the bottle is reused when it is melted. Instead, melting and reforming is recycling. Exam tip: Use the term 'cullet' for crushed glass to show precise vocabulary.
See it
Put it in order
Put these steps in the order they happen.
- 1. Crushed into cullet
- 2. Sorted, often by colour
- 3. Glass bottles collected
- 4. New glass products, such as bottles or jars
- 5. Molten glass moulded or blown
- 6. Melted in a furnace at high temperature
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Cullet
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Recycling
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Raw materials
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Landfill
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- Cullet
- Small pieces of crushed glass, produced when glass bottles are crushed before being melted in a furnace.
- Recycling
- The original bottle is destroyed and the material is reformed into new products, rather than being reused.
- Raw materials
- The materials needed to make new glass, which are saved by recycling glass.
- Landfill
- The place glass would otherwise be sent, and the amount sent there is reduced by recycling.
Label the diagram
Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.
1Box 1
2Box 2
3Box 3
There is more to this lesson
The full lesson goes on to check your understanding and help you earn the marks. Create a free account to carry on, with your progress saved.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge
Test your understanding of Ways of reducing the use of resources: Glass bottles can be crushed and melted to make different glass products.
Active recall beats re-reading. Take an instant quiz now to test what you’ve learned and lock it into long-term memory.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge