New process claimed for recycling laminated glass from cars

” We hope to go into production by the beginning of next year “
– Bernard Hammond, Ecofillers chairman

The company, which is a subsidiary of Ecofillers, based in Over Alderley, Cheshire, said it had developed a new method for separating the laminated glass which is sandwiched together with layers of plastic.

The process, which is pending patent, follows a year-long pilot project at Berryman's glass collection site in Kirkby, South Yorkshire, which received 120,000 from Recycling Action Yorkshire.

Now Ecofillers Yorkshire is planning to roll out the technology on a commercial scale, by opening a new plant which it says will be able to process all of the UK's windscreens by next year. However, the company declined to say where the plant would be built.

Bernard Hammond, chairman of Ecofillers, told letsrecycle.com: “We are hoping to divert over 10,000 tonnes of waste from landfill which is the whole of the UK market. Our intention is to build a commercial plant to do that and we hope to go into production by the beginning of next year.”

Mr Hammond added: “It is important to recycle windscreens otherwise they end up in landfill and the car industry is also under severe pressure to recycle elements of cars. Our aim is to reduce this burden by separating the glass and recycling it.”

Viridor

Under Ecofiller Yorkshire's plans, it is interested in recycling the plastic “PVB” component of laminated glass which, it said, can be valued at up to 5,000 a tonne. The remaining glass component will be passed on to glass re-processors such as Berryman's.

However, the windscreen recycling initiative is not the only one in the UK. A method to recycle the glass has been developed by Viridor Glass Recycling at its site in St Helens, which is one of the few other companies in the UK capable of recycling car windscreens. (see letsrecycle.com story)
Viridor also recycles the plastic.

Related Links: Recycling Action Yorkshire