British Glass has called for a co-ordinated effort to help ensure the environmental benefits of glass recycling are maximised. This follows the release of figures showing that over 355,000/t of glass was reprocessed or exported for reprocessing in 1Q/06. Rebecca Cocking, recycling manager said: "Whilst the focus on growing tonnage is clearly succeeding, it is very important that we don't lose sight of the need to maximise the environmental benefit of glass recycling. Maximising the amount of color separated cullet going to the UK glass container industry delivers the biggest environmental benefit;last year alone glass recycling reduced UK carbon dioxide emissions by around 200,000/t." Despite the benefits of recycling the container industry believes the growth of mixed collection is jeopardising its ability to further reduce emissions & save energy. Ms Cocking added: "The container sector could absorb much higher tonnages of glass, but such growth can only come from greater tonnages of clear and brown glass. The growth of mixed glass collection is reducing the availability of clear and brown glass as we have to color separate it before it can be recycled. This is costly and increases the amount of energy we have to use," "It is vitally important for container manufacture that we halt the move to mixed collection and maximise the amount of glass that is collected color separated. This will ensure that the glass packaging industry will be able to maximise the amount of glass it recycles. And even with full color separation, the UK faces an enormous challenge in realising the potential environmental and social benefits of glass recycling. With growing levels of mixed collection, these potential benefits become much more uncertain".
