Strategies Towards Circular Economy for Glass Materials and Products

Aiming at circular economy we must provide strategies for reuse of EoL (end of life) glass products, for maintenance and increase high material recycling quotas and be open for new technologies. The well-established returnable bottle system in Germany is an almost perfect example for product recycling, albeit in a confined market segment for certain beverages. On the other hand, recycling nonpackaging glass is tremendously far from closed cycles. The glass packaging market has grown slowly but successfully in spite of the competition from PET and other plastics. Glass producers struggle with even higher energy prices and will focus more and more on renewable energies. Consumers are aware that glass offers an alternative to increasing packaging waste. Which future tasks result from this situation? Three main topics arise for container glass: less one-way packaging, more returnable packaging, and innovative strategies for collection and sort- ing. Knowledge on the best practice examples is expected to be transferred to non-container glasses. An overview on the current status of demands is being documented with the goal of more ideas being generated to assist in glass recycling.