Morley Glass & Glazing and Saint-Gobain Glass to recycle post-consumer glass

Morley Glass & Glazing has partnered with Saint-Gobain Glass to recycle and reuse post-consumer glass.

Post-consumer glass is glass that has been taken out of old windows which has reached the end of its life.

Saint-Gobain Glass already operates the UK’s largest cullet or waste glass return scheme and, since the introduction of using cullet in the manufacture of float glass, the company has been able to increase the amount of recycled material utilised to 35% rising to 41% in some cases.

However, the majority of the 56,000 tonnes of waste glass returned every year comes from the manufacturing process (pre-consumed glass) rather than glass that has been utilised in end products.

Morley Glass & Glazing has offered its 50,000ft2 manufacturing space in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK to serve as a collection centre for post-consumer glass.

It has also installed a glass crushing machine and employed one new member of staff to manage the scheme.

Ian Short, Managing Director at Morley Glass & Glazing said: “We already send our waste glass from the factory to Saint-Gobain Glass in Eggborough to become cullet and be used in the production of new float glass.

“Now we are offering our customers the opportunity to return their post-consumer glass to us for recycling free of charge.”

Mike Butterick, Head of Marketing at Saint-Gobain Glass said: “This is a fantastic partnership that delivers a sustainable solution for the whole supply chain.

“Using one tonne of cullet saves 1.2 tonnes of raw material, including 850kg of sand; reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 300kg.

“Mirrored, lacquered and coated glass can all be returned and used in the manufacturing process. As cullet takes less energy to process than raw materials, this benefits both Saint-Gobain Glass and the environment.”

Saint-Gobain Glass has said that if the cullet doesn’t pass the company’s strict screening procedure, provisions are made for it to be recycled elsewhere via a third party.