[paul.fr]

When taking empty bottles to the recycling bins, why do we have to seperate brown, white and green bottles?

[eric l]

Even at low rates, the coloured glass in the mix would make the clear ("white") glass coloured.  Most glass is slightly green, as you can see when trying to look through the edges, but the added colours used to make green or brown glass for bottles is resistant to the temperatures in the glass oven.
Why do we use coloured glass for bottles in the first place ?  Beer and red wine loose quality under (UV)-light.  One of the major research themes in the brewery industry worldwide is how to make beer resistant to light, because clear bottles are cheaper and better for recycling.

[BillJx]

  One of the major research themes in the brewery industry worldwide is how to make beer resistant to light, because clear bottles are cheaper and better for recycling.

Well, the bottles do come in a cardboard box.
And Corona is in clear bottles; is that just because clear glass is cheaper to process, or are they putting something in my beer?!

[paul.fr]

So we could put different coloured glass into the same recycling bank, as long as they were just to make more coloured glass. But not if it were to make clear glass