Eurovetro recovers glass scraps which the glass industry then uses to replace 10% to potentially 100% of other raw materials in the production process (silica, i.e., sand from mining, sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate). There are three main advantages to using recovered glass:
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Each kg of recovered glass used in the glassmaking furnaces replaces 1.2 kg of corresponding raw materials.
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Approximately 30% less energy is needed to melt recycled glass than that necessary to melt the corresponding virgin raw materials and transform them into glass.
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The European Container Glass Federation has calculated that 0.67 kg of CO2 is saved for every kg of scrap glass recovered.
To grasp the importance of this resource, think only that roughly 12 million tons of glass packaging is collected each year in Europe.
Eurovetro actively contributes to this virtuous cycle by recovering around 250,000 tons of the following types of glass each year:
Mixed
1⁄2 clear glass from the industrial sector
1⁄2 clear glass resulting from the colour sorting of mixed glass from sorted packaging waste collection
Clear glass from the industrial sector
Clear glass resulting from the colour sorting of mixed glass from sorted packaging waste collection
Flint
Special glass products for construction and conglomerates
Today, recycled mixed glass is used exclusively to produce green, yellow or brown packaging glass.
Recycled 1⁄2 clear glass, clear glass and flint are used to produce transparent packaging glass.
