By allowing companies to get rid of the 'waste' tag, their products will be more attractive to buyers
Martin Brocklehurst, Environment Agency
The three-month consultation on proposals for a Quality Protocol for flat glass has been launched with the aim of reducing the number of permits and licences required to recycle the glass.
The project, which is a joint venture between the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Environment Agency, will also look at ways to classify the cullet as a product rather than a waste.
This will enable recyclers to bypass some of the existing waste regulations and make it easier to recycle the estimated 6.6 million windows replaced in the UK every year.
Flat glass can be reprocessed for use as an aggregate in building materials and for brick manufacture, as well as into new glass. It is hoped the Protocol can create new business opportunities and markets.
Martin Brocklehurst, head of external programmes at the Environment Agency, said: “This consultation on a Quality Protocol for processed cullet from waste flat glass, proposes creating new business opportunities for companies that market and sell-on processed flat glass. By allowing them to get rid of the 'waste' tag, their products will be more attractive to buyers”.
Landfill diversion
Around 700,000 tonnes of waste flat glass is produced every year in the UK, with around 200,000 tonnes recycled. It is hoped the Protocol can divert more glass from landfill.
Dr Richard Swannell from WRAP explained: “The launch of today's consultation is good news for the businesses operating in or with the flat glass market and we are keen to hear their comments and feedback on the proposals. If agreed, we believe the Quality Protocol will help increase business activity in the flat glass recycling market whilst also reducing the amount of waste flat glass that would normally end up in landfills.”
WRAP said flat glass has been targeted because the industry is the second largest sector in the UK glass manufacturing industry. It added that remelting processed flat glass reduces energy use by as much as 25 per cent over making glass from virgin raw materials.
The flat glass Quality Protocol is part of the Waste Protocols Projects coordinated by WRAP and the Environment Agency. It is funded by the Business Resource Efficiency & Waste programme run by the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs.
The Waste Protocols Project is set to launch 12-week consultations for four other Quality Protocols in the next two months.
They are:
• The production of biodiesel from waste vegetable oil
• Tyre-derived rubber materials
• Non-packaging plastics
• Pulverised fuel ash
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