From glasstec: Circular economy in the glass industry a major topic of this decade

In 2023, industry emissions fell by 12% year-over-year – as found by the current study “Agora Energiewende.” 

While a positive development at first sight, the change is, however, largely due to declining production in the energy-intensive sectors driven by lower demand in a competitive environment made difficult by high energy prices.

At this year’s glasstec, held Oct. 22-25, circular economy is a Hot Topic, or major theme of the show. Circular economy is in fact one of the most important topics of the decade, both ecologically and economically: cullet returned into the cycle saves raw materials, lowers furnace temperature and saves valuable energy. At the same time, one kilogram of float glass made of recycled glass emits about 0.3 kg less CO2 than a glass batch consisting only of primary raw materials.

The problem: there is too little cullet from demolished or dismantled old buildings and the recycled material streams are not flowing back to the flat glass industry to the desired degree. This article analyses the different reasons for this and points to possible solutions. Read the full article on glasstec-online.com