The Waste Protocol Project, led by WRAP & the EA, have launched a new voluntary Flat Glass Quality Protocol. Marcus Gover, project executive, looks at the progress made so far & the business opportunities the protocol presents for collectors & recyclers of flat glass. It is estimated that the UK generates between 670,000-700,000/t of waste flat glass yearly. This is mostly from construction & demolition of buildings, including window refurbishment & replacement, but also from motor vehicle production & the the manufacture of flat glass itself. Of this recovered material, estimates show that around 210,000/t are recycled; 100,000/t in the manufacture of new flat glass, 60,000/t in the production of container glass & 50,000 tonnes in the making of glass fibre. The rest, over 500,000/t is sent to landfill. The Flat Glass Quality Protocol- developed by the Waste Protocol Project, in consultation with the glass industry & other stakeholders-aims to provide greater regulatory clarity, while raising the quality and quantity of recycled flat glass cullet available for use in the manufacturing of flat glass, abrasives and ceramics. For manufacturers it makes financial sense to use glass cullet whenever possible. Re-melting cullet uses 25% less energy than making glass from raw materials, and each tonne of cullet also saves 1.2 tonnes of raw materials from being extracted. In addition, even when taking collection and processing costs into account, cullet can often be purchased more cheaply than the cheaply than th corresponding virgin raw materials.
