Glass Recycled into wall insulation

A new initiative at a local rubbish dump will see glass recycled in new ways.

Most glass is broken down and turned into bottles again however a new recycling initiative, launched at the Te Maunga Transfer Station today, will see flat glass crushed and made into wall insulation.

The initiative is expected to save 1300 tonnes of flat glass from the landfill annually.

Bottle recycling has been happening in Tauranga for years, but the recycling of flat glass is a first for the region.

The project was enabled by by a partnership between the Tauranga City Council, the Glass Packaging Forum and EnviroWaste.

Six sorting bays have been constructed at the Te Maunga Transfer Station thanks to a $47,000 grant from the TCC's waste minimisation fund and a $7,000 grant from the Glass Packaging Forum.

Flat glass can now be sorted into opaque, laminated and double- glazed before being transported to glass recycler  5R Solutions in Auckland where it will be turned into wall insulation.