GPI and Boston Consulting Group Announce New Glass Recycling Roadmap

GPI and Boston Consulting Group Announce New Glass Recycling Roadmap

The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) has announced a new “A Circular Future for Glass” initiative

This is a 10-year plan to raise the U.S.’s glass recycling rate to 50 percent and boost the average use of recycled content in domestically made glass containers. GPI partnered with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to undertake the study, design study solution sets in different regions, and develop a set of options for achieving that goal.

“A Circular Future for Glass” has three important pillars:

  • Leave no bottle behind. This multiprong initiative involves new or expanded bottle-bill laws, clean collection options, and expanded commercial recycling programs.
  • Transform the recycling system. Investments and improvements must be made in collection, separating, and processing, especially in selected regions, to reduce the glass that is carted to landfills.
  • Drive collective action. This entails creating user-friendly deposit-return programs run by the private sector and other cooperative approaches that build awareness and momentum.

We are energized by this new national initiative, and thankful for the opportunity to work with BCG on this project,” said GPI President Scott DeFife (pictured). “Increasing the U.S. glass recycling rate to 50 percent improves the supply of raw material for glass container manufacturing and would result in lower greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs and improve upon the already recognized sustainability performance of glass. It is an ambitious but achievable goal that can be accomplished with collaboration and cooperation within the glass manufacturing supply chain and with help from all levels of government. We are excited to begin this journey with the help of BCG, GPI member companies, and other stakeholders in the industry.” 

Glass is an infinitely recyclable material, but unfortunately in the U.S. it mostly ends up in landfills,” said Elfrun Von Koeller, Managing Director & Partner of BCG. “We partnered with GPI to design workable solutions to reach an ambitious 50% glass recycling goal. Setting the goal is not enough. We must all continue to work collectively to help transform the recycling system end-to-end.

Cullet, or crushed recycled glass, is the most important raw material in our glass manufacturing process,” said Conrad Winkler, President and CEO of Ardagh Group, Glass – North America. “Ardagh is fully committed to supporting the glass manufacturing industry and working with GPI to improve the levels of quality cullet we use.

The infinite recyclability of glass is what makes it superior to other packaging materials,” said Nipesh Shah, President and CEO of Anchor Glass Container Corporation. “However, in the United States there are significant cullet shortages.  By improving our recycling systems, we can increase cullet supply and protect our environment.

"Among all packaging materials, glass is ideal for the circular economy," said Tim Connors, Managing Director, North America for O-I Glass and chairman of the GPI Board of Directors. "Glass can be recycled continuously without loss of purity or quality. Improving glass recycling will help meet a strong demand for cullet and enhance the sustainability for packaging."

It’s important for companies to play a role in promoting recycling and the use of sustainable packaging and we believe GPI has the right plan in place to help move the glass industry forward with these efforts,” said Bob Kunkle, Interim Plant Manager Rocky Mountain Bottle Company.

We are encouraged by the glass container industry’s commitment to a multi-faceted approach to capture more glass from new and existing recycling streams,” said Chris Dods, President & CEO, Strategic Materials. “We believe industry collaboration with concerted government efforts is the most effective way to drive meaningful change in diverting glass from landfill, while operating more efficiency and protecting our planet.” 

GPI’s next steps include working to develop pilot projects that will bring these important roadmap concepts to life. We are also focused on expanding association membership with a network of participants in the glass recycling sector who will work beside us to achieve the outlined goals and replicate the best results from pilots in varying regions across the country.

 

www.gpi.org

Published: 
22/04/2021

Hot Topics