During the last months, Glass for Europe’s Environment experts have been working towards a harmonised definition of recycled content in the flat glass sector. The approach is explained in a dedicated paper. The document also contains a methodology for the calculation of a recycled content percentage in the flat glass sectors.
Starting from the premise of the theoretically infinite recyclability of glass, the paper reiterates Glass for Europe’s members endeavour to implement circularity into their processes. Significant efforts have been performed by EU flat glass manufacturers in order to improve glass cullet collection and recovery, allowing them to harvest the potential in terms of decarbonisation. Because of the importance of the notion of recycled content of flat glass, the work has been undertaken by the association’s Environment experts to adopt an unambiguous definition thereof.
The definition gives due consideration to the specificities of the flat glass sector, i.e., very strict constraints in terms of purity and quality of glass cullet, and the fact that recycling in flat glass manufacture requires flat glass cullet.
The paper thoroughly describes the existing definitions in relevant legislation and standards of the components of recycled materials used in flat glass manufacturing, illustrating their application. It presents and explains the formula allowing the calculation of a recycled content percentage in the flat glass sector.
The document will soon be available on Glass for Europe’s website.