Well, I don't know but clearly people aren't getting sick all the time from drinking beer. So it's evidently safe enough. I wouldn't worry about it.
this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
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Thanks.. looks like I got my answer. Not a single bottle rejected!
When the process is powerful enough to blast out the hard to reach places, followed by cleaning and disinfecting that has lead to extremely reliable outcomes across decades, there isn't a reason to reject individual bottles that go through the process.
They most likely do regular checks to make sure the cleaning process is working as designed, as is the standard practice for any automated process. If the samples aren't unclean, then there is no reason to worry about any individual bottle. They check for cracks with lasers because it is fast and easy to do, plus it has the benefits of not allowing contaminants in and reduces the chances of bottles breaking during filling.
On top of that the fermentation process is hostile to bacteria and other contaminants, so even if a minuscule amount was making it through, the beer will finish it off. They don't need to be surgical instrument clean.
As far as I know, in the US, recycled glass is recycled, not reused, so they basically waste a lot of energy to melt the glass back down and make new bottles.
Reusing can definitely be done effectively, though. Homebrewers do it all the time with pretty safe chemicals. If you have industrial machines and chemicals, you can probably get the glass sterile, and if not sterile, then definitely close enough.
In Europe they charge 10¢/bottle for simple bottles and 40¢/bottle for the fancy clamp-down style. Then that gets refunded when they are returned. It’s a bit of a hassle because some brewers do not participate, in which case the reverse vending machine rejects the bottle which means you then have to carry it to a glass recycle bin. The brewers that do not participate use a thinner more fragile glass that would be unfit for reuse. So consumers have to stay on their toes and keep track of which brewers participate. Can get quite tricky with the obscure artisinal brews.
Ireland is introducing the same concept for plastic bottles of charging a fee for them then returning the fee in a reverse vending machine. I can’t imagine reusing those. They must be recycling them.