Why Glass Cullet?
We want to try and change
how broken glass is perceived.
Glass is a material that can be recycled endlessly without a loss in quality or purity. When glass breaks, it can almost always be restored back to its natural form through the glass manufacturing process.
It is therefore crucial to understand the impact of glass.
The world generates around 100 million tonnes of glass waste every year¹.
75% of this waste eventually ends up in landfills².
It’s imperative to consider the effects of glass waste on the environment. This is where glass cullet comes into the picture.
Glass cullet refers to the broken glass which is processed and sorted based on colour. Glass Cullet can be used in the manufacturing process along with raw materials like soda ash, limestone, and silica.
There are some important benefits to using glass cullet over raw materials during manufacturing³.
25-30%
ENERGY SAVED
DURING
MANUFACTURING
25-50%
REDUCTION IN
CARBON
EMISSIONS
1.2KG
RAW MATERIAL SAVED
FOR EVERY KILO OF GLASS MADE FROM CULLET
95%
OF ALL RAW MATERIALS CAN BE SUBSTITUTED BY CULLET
By recycling glass responsibly, consumers and industries can help create a circular economy in the glass manufacturing process.
A circular economy is an economic system that is aimed at trying to ensure continuous use of resources. Glass can be infinitely recycled, and recycled glass is a raw material that can be used as input to create more glass, rather than being thrown into a landfill. This regenerative process can help reuse glass as a raw material rather than manufacturing it again wasting precious natural resources.
We know that bringing about this change in India will be challenging. However, we at Terraglass are hopeful that we move towards a future where a circular glass economy is possible within our country.
References
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“Kaza, Silpa; Yao, Lisa C.; Bhada-Tata, Perinaz; Van Woerden, Frank. 2018. What a Waste 2.0 : A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Urban Development;. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Single-stream recycling and its impact on the glass-landfill problem. (2019, June 20). Sioneer.
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Glass recycling facts - Glass packaging institute. (n.d.). Glass Packaging Institute.
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Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N., & Hultink, E. (2017). The Circular Economy – A new sustainability paradigm?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143 (1), 757-768.