> you'd expect there'd be no glass bottles of anything (beer, mustard, maple syrup) if that was the case
That's completely different - you're confusing recycling with reuse. The bottles you're referring to are made anew from glass that has been smashed into cullet and re-cast into new glass.
What the commenters above are advocating are thicker glass bottles that are washed and reused as-is, i.e. reuse.
Different QA concerns when you're manufacturing fresh glass versus collecting it from randos
That's completely different - you're confusing recycling with reuse. The bottles you're referring to are made anew from glass that has been smashed into cullet and re-cast into new glass.
What the commenters above are advocating are thicker glass bottles that are washed and reused as-is, i.e. reuse.
Different QA concerns when you're manufacturing fresh glass versus collecting it from randos