Container glass manufacturing in the USA has been deemed an ‘essential’ industry.
It means production plants can continue to manufacture glass even if the country goes into lockdown as a result of coronavirus.
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Administration (CISA) federal guidelines on essential infrastructure functions was revised earlier this week to include ‘workers needed to maintain the continuity of these manufacturing functions and associated supply chains.’
Some individual states, such as Pennsylvania, had originally decreed that glass manufacturing was not essential. But this was changed after intervention by the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI).
It means glass production facilities operated by companies such as O-I and Ardagh can continue to manufacture glass.
Some states have paused bottle bill redemption. The full list of State Executive Orders concerning manufacturing in the US is available here.
