Saint-Gobain Glass is leading the industry in the design and production of sustainable building glass
Saint-Gobain takes its responsibility very seriously. On the 23rd September 2019, at the United Nations Summit on Climate Change, the Saint-Gobain Group Chairman and CEO, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar gave a commitment that the entire Saint-Gobain global group will move to become a net-zero carbon emitter by 2050.
Objective: to use 50% cullet in the manufacture of Saint-Gobain glass by 2025
Cullet types
There are three types of cullet depending on its origin, as defined by the ISO 14021 standard:
| Internal Cullet | Industrial Cullet | Post-Consumer Cullet |
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| Cullet that comes directly from glass production. This type of cullet does not leave the flat glass making facility, it is directly recycled on the production lines. | Glass waste coming from glass sheet processing and from products that have not yet been delivered to the final customer. This type of cullet can be found on coating lines and glass processing sites. | Cullet generated after the delivery of glass to the end user. In the construction industry, post-consumer cullet mainly comes from the renovation and the dismantling of buildings. In the auto industry, it comes from the replacement of windscreens and the dismantling of cars at the end of their useful life. |
Post-consumer flat glass recovery and recycling
Saint-Gobain has for several years led the industry in the recovery and use of post-industrial glass cullet. Now Saint-Gobain has extended this programme to recover ‘post-consumer’ glass from old windows which has until not typically been discarded into landfill. The climate emergency means that we must challenge existing business models in order to achieve a sustainable future for everyone on our planet.
Saint-Gobain’s cullet return scheme is a key initiative to achieve this target. We must work in partnership with our customers to ensure that when possible all post-industrial and post-consumer glass is recycled to manufacture high performance glass. Saint-Gobain will manufacture all flat glass using 50% cullet by 2025.
Benefits of the Cullet Return Scheme
Customer Support Packages
Saint-Gobain Glass has created three Glass Forever Cullet Return packages to help our customers setup and manage the collection and return of
waste glass.
| Cullet collection bags | Large volume cullet collection | Cullet crushing machine |
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| Saint-Gobain’s cullet collection bags have been specially made to hold sharp pieces of glass. The bags can be securely held in a frame or hopper to ensure the safe collection of waste glass during processing. Off-cuts of glass and waste glass from ecovered units can be added into the bags. The bags can then be returned to us on a Saint-Gobain in-loader when you’ve received delivery of glass from Saint-Gobain. Remember to segregate your cullet to prevent any contaminates being added to the bags. |
We offer a more substantial cullet return approach for larger scale glass processors. If you produce a significant volume of waste glass, Saint-Gobain provides the option of a standing trailer for cullet collection. The trailer will be left with you for you to fill with the waste glass that you collect at your site, ensuring that you segregate your cullet and prevent any contamination. The standing trailer will then be collected and replaced with a new trailer by Saint-Gobain as required, based on a previously agreed schedule. |
Saint-Gobain has developed a cullet crushing machine that can be used to separate glass from glazed units, to enable the recycling of post-consumer glass. Crush the glass on your site and Saint-Gobain will collect it to be recycled into new high performance glass. A number of Saint-Gobain’s customers and partners have installed a cullet crushing machine to ramp up the scale of their glass recycling operation. The cullet crushing machine is simple to install and use. Please contact Saint-Gobain Glass if you’d like to find out more about the machine or if you’d like to find a cullet recycling partner near you.
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Join our Cullet Return Scheme
Saint-Gobain Glass offers competitive rates for good quality, recycled cullet which could help to off-set the cost of your waste management, along with positively impacting the carbon footprint of your business.
Saint-Gobain Glass has introduced a certification scheme to reward our Glass Forever Partners.