26 June 2024

Roadmap to Optimise Closed Loop Recycling of Glass Packaging

The objective of Close the Glass Loop is to reach 90% collection for recycling of glass packaging in the EU by 2030, and to ensure that the recovered material is of good quality and fed back into the manufacturing of new glass packaging containers.

 

From the moment a glass container leaves a manufacturing plant, to the moment it comes back for recycling by re-melt, and all the steps in between, every part of the value chain plays a key role to ensure that glass expresses its unique attribute of infinite recyclability without loss of its material properties. Likewise, every decision taken at every point of the chain will have an impact on all the other parts.

In that context, the goal of this Roadmap is to set a pathway for Close the Glass Loop to further support the continued optimisation of the closed loop glass recycling process. In the context of closed-loop glass recycling, sorting glass coming from collection to get furnace-ready cullet as well as remelting furnace-ready cullet into new glass containers are both part of the virtuous recycling chain of glass.

 

In this document:

• we provide information on glass packaging and the closed loop glass recycling process,

• we outline the key challenges to maximise the uptake of recycled content in the manufacturing of new glass containers,

• we propose actions and pathways to address these challenges.

 

You can find below the full document for download below.