Recycled glass plant could prove to be a building revolution

A Gloucestershire company using a waste glass product for the first time in the county plans to open a recycling plant to create a ground-breaking material for use as a ground substrate. Churcham-based EPOC Europe first used glass foam granulate for the base of St Andrew's Church in Churchdown after transporting it across Europe. It could save the church around £10,000.

EPOC is now hoping to open a unit in the county to make the granulates here, reducing transport costs.

Commercial director Jurgen Baas said: "Our aim is to build a factory in Gloucestershire to produce in the UK. "Around 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes of glass is still going to landfill and we want to take that glass and use it to insulate." The waste-glass granulates are being used for underfloor insulation, covering a 62 cubic metre floor space with a depth of 300mm.

EPOC Europe Ltd, which has a store and depot in Andoversford, imports the pellets from near Dresden in Germany.

The 3-4cm granulates have been created by German company TECHNOpor from glass that is often not recycled, including that from car windscreens and lightbulbs. They create a metre-high barrier to stop heat going into the ground, instead pushing it upward. Resilient, impermeable and frost and fireproof, they are also lightweight - weighing just 170 kg per cubic metre - and so put minimal pressure on the ground.

St Andrew's Church is undergoing major work to increase its seating capacity and improve heating.

It can currently hold 220 seats and this will increase to 350, with the ability to push to 440, once work is complete.

The layout of the inside of the church is being altered so it becomes north facing, to accommodate the extra seats. Service in the church is expected to resume in October. Mr Baas, who came across the green product on the internet and wanted to bring it to Gloucestershire where he lives, said he hoped this was the first of many projects in the county.

"This product is being sold right across Europe, but not in the UK," he added.