Recycled glass generally contains two types of moisture. First, some containers have residual moisture from the original food content. Second, piles of glass stored outdoors retain some amount of dew and rainwater. When cullet is either too wet or too dry, processing and shipment can be difficult. Therefore, moisture control strategies may be necessary. Best Practice: Depending on the gradation, glass cullet is free-draining compared with most natural aggregates. When cullet is used as construction aggregate, its free-draining characteristics result in a relative insensitivity to moisture content during compaction. However, the moisture content of glass cullet can affect its processing efficiency, ease and cost of distribution, and remelting characteristics. This best practice illustrates the effects of moisture on processing and shipping. These considerations can impact the operation at both the materials recovery facility (MRF) which generates the cullet, and the end-user. For additional information, refer to the following Best Practices: Fine-sizing of Recycled Glass; Selecting Recycled Glass Crushing Equipment; Dust Control with Glass Aggregate at Construction Sites; and Dust Control Strategies for Processing - all available by clicking on the link above.
