Integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass & Glazing is working in partnership with Saint-Gobain Glass to take recycling in the UK to the next level. The two companies are joining forces to recycle and re-use post-consumer float glass.

Saint-Gobain Glass already operates the UK’s largest waste flat glass return scheme and has been able to increase the amount of recycled material utilised to 35%, rising to 41% in some cases. However, the majority of the 56,000 tonnes of waste glass returned every year comes from the manufacturing process (pre-consumed glass) rather than glass that has been utilised in end products.

Morley Glass & Glazing has now stepped in and offered its 50,000ft2 manufacturing space in Leeds, West Yorkshire to serve as a collection centre for post-consumer glass and has installed a glass crushing machine and employed one new member of staff to manage the scheme.

“We already send our waste glass from the factory to Saint-Gobain Glass in Eggborough to become cullet and be used in the production of new float glass” commented Ian Short, Managing Director at Morley Glass & Glazing. “Now we are offering our customers the opportunity to return their post-consumer glass to us for recycling free-of-charge. It seems such a waste for our vans to return empty after delivering our sealed units with integral blinds inside throughout the UK, so why not encourage our customers to pack them full of old windows and doors that they are replacing. This saves our customers the cost and inconvenience of disposing of them to landfill or other commercial recycling schemes that will levy a charge for the service. We will then separate the metal and frames from the glass and ensure each element is recycled and re-used as fully as possible.” www.morleyglass.co.uk