According to the EC (19 November, 2008) “waste means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.” Recycling materials and products – that are considered waste - is an ancient practice which shows that in times of resource scarcity (i.e. shortage of virgin materials) societies attach more economic and societal value to their own waste. This implies that throughout time the definition of waste can change as well. Generally speaking longer use or reuse of materials and products this is often mainly to cover a society’s needs.

Recycling is a process which reconsiders the current life cycle of creating products and materials and associated process and final waste. Specifically, paper recycling is the process of recovering waste paper and remaking it into new products. Recycling provides several socio-economic development benefits as well as environmental benefits.

Over half of the energy consumption of the glass industry is used for melting in order to form the glass. Adding recycled glass to the raw materials reduces energy use and CO₂ emissions. Another advantage is that less raw material is needed. Currently, the world-average glass recycling rate is about 50%. Higher recycling rates are possible, especially in regions where the recovery rate is still low.