Glass in Manufacturing - Benefits and Opportunities

Recycled glass is a hard, inert material which can be used in many different ways. The most popular and environmentally favourable approach is to remelt it to produce more glass, a process which can be repeated over and over again. This not only saves valuable natural resources but also saves energy and reduces emissions of carbon dioxide.

Where it is not possible to use glass in this way (for example, green container glass which exceeds the limited green furnace capacity we have in the UK), the glass may be exported for use in glass furnaces on the Continent.

Alternative domestic markets include its use as a coarse aggregate substitute for use in road construction, concrete product manufacture or as trench backfill. When crushed to a finer size, it may be used in sports turf applications (e.g. golf course bunkers or as top dressing for fairways), grit blasting, glass bead manufacture or as a fluxing agent in brick manufacture.

Another popular use for recycled glass is in fibreglass insulation manufacture where either mixed colour container or flat glass cullet is used offering numerous benefits over virgin materials.

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