The amount of glass recycled by Irish households has grown by 16 per cent this year to a record 60,000 tonnes.
According to Rehab Recycle, the 195 million recycled glass bottles and jars would circle the globe one and a half times if laid end to end. Some 80 per cent of all glass used in Ireland is recycled, according to Repak, which today announced national Recycling Week.
Repak figures show the people of Cork and Galway are the country's best recyclers, with deposits of some 51 bottles and jars for every person in the county during the first eight months of the year.
Leitrim and Sligo were the next best counties with an average of 49 items of glass recycled per person.
The largest increase in glass recycling came in Co Sligo - up by 31 per cent to 885 tonnes of glass, followed by Tipperary, where figures rose by 24 per cent.
The bring bank at Glasthule, Co Dublin, was Ireland's busiest bring site, with deposits totalling a 1,060,000 bottles and jars.
Despite the rise in glass recycling, Repak chief executive Andrew Hetherington, warned that more effort needs to be made to increase the amount of non-glass products that are recycled.
"Whilst Repak is delighted with our current high glass recycling rates at over 80 per cent, we need to be increasing and improving our other packaging recycling rates which lag significantly behind this figure," he said.
"In particular, we need to focus on our plastic and metal recycling rates, which are at 20 per cent and 65 per cent respectively."