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Read online at www . proinstaller . co . uk
JANUARY 2024 | 3
News
A BIG STEP TO MAKING GLASS RECYCLING THE NORM
Ian Short , MD of Morley Glass explains why the G23 Award-win for the company ’ s post-consumer glass recycling initiative could be the big catalyst for change in how the industry disposes of waste glass .
When did the recycling of end-of-life double glazed units become ‘ the norm ’? Hopefully we will be able to answer that question in the not too distant future – possibly even with ‘ 2024 ’ – if the progress that we ’ ve made with our recycling scheme over the last two years is any indicator .
November ’ s G-Awards provided high profile recognition for our scheme , which we developed in 2021 in conjunction with Saint- Gobain Glass . Winning the award for ‘ Sustainability Initiative of the Year ’ was a key moment for the scheme as it put the concept of IGU recycling in the spotlight like never before .
And this is really important for the industry as a whole as we work towards ending the needless disposal every year of thousands of tonnes of high quality glass in landfill or , at best , diverting it into low-grade uses such as aggregate for road-building .
But ‘ old habits die hard ’, so when we took delivery of our first state-of-the-art glass crushing machine in 2021 , we knew it would take time for the idea of recycling old IGUs , rather than throwing them into the general skip , to catch on . Momentum has grown quickly , however , and today we have already generated over 1,500 tonnes of cullet ( crushed glass ), a milestone that means nearly 2,000 tonnes of sand – the main ‘ virgin ’ raw material for glass manufacturing – has stayed in the ground .
A simple concept underpinned by technological innovation
One reason why the recycling scheme has become popular with installers is because it is straightforward and easily accessible . Morley Glass delivery drivers collect old IGUs from installers
at no cost when they drop-off new orders of our Uni-Blinds ® integral blinds .
Once back at our HQ , we crush these using machinery that takes fully intact IGUs at one end and generates cullet at the other . This cullet is of such high quality that Saint-Gobain can use this , following some additional processing , as a raw material for the remanufacture of new building glass , which is then used to make far higher performing IGUs than the ones our installers removed .
The raw material saving , however , is only one of the scheme ’ s benefits . Using cullet instead of virgin raw materials also means less energy is needed to power the furnace during glass production , which means lower CO2 emissions and energy use .
Getting into ‘ circular economy ’ thinking
The double and triple glazed units made today are far better performing than those installed in previous years , even those as recently as 10 years ago . So , the window and door industry can play an important role in upgrading the thermal performance and energy efficiency of the UK ’ s homes – cutting homeowner and tenant energy bills as a result .
Recycling relatively poorly performing IGUs to create new ones is , therefore , a really positive move from a sustainability perspective and in line with the ‘ circular economy ’. This is the idea of re-using or recycling waste wherever possible to reduce the demand on the Earth ’ s resources .
So , a simple change in how we dispose of old sealed units , by putting them aside for collection rather than dropping them in the general skip is massive . It is one of the ways our industry can improve its green credentials at a time when our role in providing sustainable building products becomes ever more recognised by the general public and policymakers .
Supporting local communities – another big incentive !
The final dimension to our glass recycling scheme is that it provides financial support for local initiatives dedicated to environmental and social improvement . The revenue raised through the production of cullet means we can ringfence thousands of pounds every year in the Green- Vision fund , a pot of money used to provide grants to charities , groups and individuals .
The good causes that have benefited to date include a dance school providing scholarships to children in disadvantaged areas , and an organisation which manufactures blankets for homeless people using waste crisp packets . As glass recycling volumes increase , we look forward to supporting many more initiatives like these in 2024 .
www . morleyglass . co . uk