A new partnership in the United Kingdom aims to improve post-consumer glass recycling throughout the fenestration industry.
Veka Recycling, which typically focuses on PVCu recycling, partnered with Saint-Gobain Glass to address gaps in the glazing sector’s recycling infrastructure. One issue is the lack of a streamlined process for collecting and recycling glass from end-of-life windows and glazed units.
According to Veka officials, the partnership centers around Saint-Gobain’s ICG recycling machine, which separates annealed and tempered glass from spacer bars. This enables the recovery of clean glass cullet. The glass can then be processed and reintroduced into float glass production. This process improves resource recovery rates while reducing the need for raw material extraction, lowering energy consumption by 30% and cutting carbon emissions across the supply chain.
“This marks a monumental step on our journey towards creating a circular economy within the U.K.,” says Vika’s commercial director, Tim Taylor. “For the fenestration industry, ensuring that materials can be collected, recycled and then manufactured into new products without needing to leave the country is instrumental in meeting sustainability goals.”
Officials add that by enabling Veka to collect fully glazed frames (without the need for deglazing onsite), the partnership will help create a more efficient and cost-effective solution for recycling post-consumer glazing materials. The companies are currently focused on a 100-mile radius around Veka’s Wellingborough, U.K., facility, which recently underwent a $20 million investment to increase its processing capacity and technological capability.