Glass is defined as 'a hard, transparent material, used to make windows, bottles, and other objects'[1]. It is formed from a melt by cooling to rigidity without crystallization and is a usually transparent or translucent material consisting typically of a mixture of silicates'[2]. Crushed glass for recycling is known as Cullet.

Waste Glass picture - source 123 stock images
Waste Glass picture - source 123 stock images

Overview

Glass is a resource that can be continuously recycled without a decline in quality. The four main constituents of glass are sand, soda ash, limestone and other additives for colour or special treatments, these materials are not in shortage but the quarrying required to obtain them is energy-intensive and has consequential environmental impacts[3].

Glass is collected by local authorities and waste collection businesses as either a separate stream or as a mixed stream with Dry Recyclables for subsequent sorting at a suitable MRF (although this is increasingly being seen as an impediment to the quality of the other Dry Recyclables as glass breaks and contaminates them).

The first stage of glass processing and recycling is crushing to form what is known as a Cullet, colour sorting is then required prior using in remelt to make new products (i.e. bottles and jars where the colour of the final product is important and fundamentally affected by the colour of the input cullet) although other options include, for example, using cullet (that has not been colour sorted but has been sized and processed appropriately) as a Secondary Aggregate or as a filtration medium.

A large proportion of glass is considered Packaging Waste and the Package Recovery Note target required is sub-divided into a remelt target to ensure glass has a higher financial incentive to go into a remelt use than a 'lower value' aggregate use.

Under Simpler Recycling[4] Glass is categorised as they are categorised as Glass packaging including bottles and jars

Macro Tonnages

The most recent information published by DEFRA [5] is summarized in the pie chart below, with 1,338,153 tonnes of glass waste generated in the UK in 2016 and is part of the broader tonnage summarized in UK Waste Tonnage:

Glass Wastes
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Data Table
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (AFF) 246
Mining and Quarrying (MQ) 290
Industrial (Ind) 64,747
Construction (Con) 129,165
Commercial (Com) 540,378
Household (HH) 603,327


The tonnage reported by local authorities is recorded in WasteDataFlow in the three main colour types and as a mixed colour type, but will exclude that tonnage sent as part of a Comingled Recyclate sent to a MRF and these tonnages are listed below.

Brown Glass

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 5000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes Reporting Period
Leeds City Council MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) U R M ( U K ) Limited 49 Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Grange Ind, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire Brown glass 12,292.98 Apr21 - Mar22
Edinburgh, City of Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Not Available Not Available Brown glass 9,535.93 Jan21 - Dec21
Mid Suffolk District Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) U R M ( U K ) Limited 49 Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Grange Ind, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire Brown glass 5,644.51 Apr21 - Mar22
Kirklees MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Glass Recycling ( U K) Ltd 418 Carlton Road, Carlton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire Brown glass 5,146.41 Apr21 - Mar22

Clear Glass

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 5000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes Reporting Period
Leeds City Council MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) U R M ( U K ) Limited 49 Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Grange Ind, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire Clear glass 12,292.98 Apr21 - Mar22
Edinburgh, City of Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Not Available Not Available Clear glass 9,535.93 Jan21 - Dec21
Merthyr Tydfil CBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Bryn Quarry Ltd Bryn Quarry Ltd, Gellia'R-Gwellt Uchaf, Gelligaer, Hengoed, Caerphilly Clear glass 6,273.94 Apr21 - Mar22
Mid Suffolk District Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) U R M ( U K ) Limited 49 Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Grange Ind, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire Clear glass 5,644.51 Apr21 - Mar22
Kirklees MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Glass Recycling ( U K) Ltd 418 Carlton Road, Carlton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire Clear glass 5,146.41 Apr21 - Mar22

Green Glass

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 5000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes Reporting Period
Leeds City Council MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) U R M ( U K ) Limited 49 Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Grange Ind, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire Green glass 12,292.98 Apr21 - Mar22
Edinburgh, City of Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Not Available Not Available Green glass 9,535.93 Jan21 - Dec21
Mid Suffolk District Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) U R M ( U K ) Limited 49 Lidgate Crescent, Langthwaite Grange Ind, South Kirkby, West Yorkshire Green glass 5,644.51 Apr21 - Mar22
Kirklees MBC Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Glass Recycling ( U K) Ltd 418 Carlton Road, Carlton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire Green glass 5,146.41 Apr21 - Mar22

Mixed Glass

Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 13000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.


Authority Stream Facility Operator Address Material Tonnes Reporting Period
Merseyside WDA (MBC) Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Grundy Skip Hire Ltd Halebank Ind Est, Pickerings Road, Halebank, Widnes, Cheshire Mixed glass 31,623.53 Apr21 - Mar22
Somerset Waste Partnership Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Recresco Limited - Cwmbran Recresco Limited, Cwmbran Depot , Springvale Industrial Estate, Cwmbran Mixed glass 17,914.87 Apr21 - Mar22
Kent County Council Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Countrystyle Recycling Ltd Countrystyle Recycling Ltd, Ridham Dock Rd, Iwade, Sittingbourne, Kent Mixed glass 16,882.48 Apr21 - Mar22
Edinburgh, City of Source segregated recyclate Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) Not Available Not Available Mixed glass 13,551.55 Jan21 - Dec21

References