Aiming to increase post-consumer glass used in high value applications, WRAP hopes to see an additional 80,000 to 160,000 tonnes of glass cullet being used.
The competition will target the infrastructure needed to producing a fine glass powder for use in industry. At the same time WRAP will be continuing its support for research and development projects geared towards boosting demand for glass cullet and glass-derived products such as the powder.
WRAP says it will target UK infrastructure to increase its capacity to produce up to 160,000 tonnes of fine glass powder from two plants by March 2004, explained Andy Dawe, material sector manager at WRAP.
Substitutes
WRAP is working with a number of groups including Ceram – an organisation for ceramics and materials based industries – to encourage use of powdered glass as a fluxing agent in the clay.
“This reduces energy costs – as it reduces the temperature at which the bricks need to be fired at. In addition, using glass powder in bricks also makes it more frost resistant than using clay,” he said.
The second potential use is using the powdered glass as a fluxing agent for sanitary ware such as sinks.
“At the moment nephylene syenite is used in the manufacture of bricks and costs 100 a tonne to import, but we can use powdered glass as a substitute.”
Mr Dawe emphasised the importance of a certainty of supply before manufacturers were to start changing their production processes. For this we need a regular supply of ground glass,” he said. And, he added that at the moment there was no established market for this material. “WRAP will help to support appropriate facilities and capacity to give the brick and cement industry the confidence and adequate supply they need.”
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