Kathy McMain, age 12, of Louisville, Ky., for her question:

HOW ARE BOTTLES RECYCLED?

More than 30 billion no deposit bottles and jars are produced each year here in the United States and, sad to say, only a fraction is being recycled. Instead, most of them end up as trash, which is rapidly overloading our scarce landfill areas. Worse yet, many are tossed carelessly onto streets, beaches or vacant lots to remain as unsightly and dangerous litter.

Glass bottles and jars can be ground up, melted and manufactured into new glass. There are more than 90 glass recycling plants throughout the United States just waiting for more used merchandise to process. The glass is separated by color, and all metal or plastic caps are removed. Glass can be used instead of sand in certain kinds of concrete, and it has been used experimentally as the main ingredient in synthetic bricks for building.