The UK container industry melts around 2m/t glass/pa and the UK's waste stream holds around 2.5m/t glass. Thus, at a first glance the industry should be able to satisfy most of its needs from recycled glass. Unfortunately, several factors prevent this desirable outcome: The glass maker's need for colour sorted glass & differences between colour profiles of the UK's glassmaking capacity & those found in the waste stream presenting major obstacles. The imbalance in supply & demand for green glass is of particular concern. The waste stream contains around 1m/t of green glass, yet the UK's container furnaces produce just 400,000/t of it. This study was commissioned by WRAP, who have identified that the UK trade in wine is a major contributor to the domestic waste stream & colour imbalance. You can download the study from WRAP's website: www.wrap.org.uk
