By 2030, 90 per cent of container glass in Europe is to be collected and recycled. The Glass Packaging Action Forum supports the „Close the Glass Loop“ initiative.
The container glass industry in Europe, represented by the European Container Glass Federation FEVE, has set itself an ambitious goal: By the year By 2030, 90 per cent of glass packaging placed on the European market will be collected and recycled. With this proactive step, it is responding to new EU regulations, according to which the recycling rate for glass will be raised to 75 per cent in 2030.
Already today 76 per cent of glass packaging across Europe, that are placed on the European market are collected and recycled. According to a recent publication by the German Federal Environment Agency, this rate was 84.4 per cent in Germany in 2017. This is a slight decline, as more glass packaging was placed on the market in 2017, but consumers did not dispose of more via the glass collection containers.
„Our aim is to Sustainability of glass packaging solutions, that we make available to our customers and consumers. We are proud to have launched „Close the Glass Loop“, an industry-wide initiative that will have real added value for the market and our planet: It is our call for an ambitious glass circular economy.“
Michel Giannuzzi, FEVE President
Perfect sustainability with glass
The initiative is organised under the name „Close the Glass Loop“ The project aims to bring together the various stakeholders in the glass recycling cycle on a common European platform and is pursuing two objectives: Firstly, to close the collection gap and secondly, to improve the quality of the glass collected so that resources can be utilised in a sustainable manner. closed bottle-to-bottle cycle can be managed.
Increased availability of high quality cullet means a more resource efficient production process and provides a high quality, safe and truly recycled packaging material. The programme will be developed over the coming months and the official Launch of the campaign is scheduled for June 2020 planned.
[infotext icon]Glass packaging. It preserves the flavour of drinks, maintains the nutrients in food and forms a high-quality casing for perfumes and cosmetics. Glass also provides absolutely safe protection for all kinds of medicines. In short, hardly any other packaging material can be used in such a wide range of industries as glass. Glass is made almost exclusively from naturally occurring - mostly domestic - raw materials and is 100 per cent recyclable. It therefore protects the environment, climate and health. Glass packaging is therefore one of the most sustainable types of packaging on the market.„To be successful, we have to work locally in any EU Member State, share best practice and raise ambitions through a European platform. We don't believe in a single European model for glass collection, but we do believe in a common ambition.“
Michel Giannuzzi, FEVE President
„The container glass industry in Germany shares the Europe-wide goals and will support the initiative at national level. To this end, we in Germany will approach the partners involved in the cycle and jointly develop measures to increase the collection rate of glass packaging. With a collection rate that is already very high compared to the rest of Europe, we are well placed in Germany to realise the Close the cycle completely."
Dr Johann Overath, Managing Director of the Bundesverband Glasindustrie e. V. (BV Glas)
In Germany, the dual systems are already governed by the new law in force since January 2019. Packaging Act committed to recycling 90 per cent of glass packaging placed on the market by 2022. The Glass Packaging Action Forum, an initiative of the container glass industry in BV Glas, supports this target. „As a manufacturer of glass packaging and a consumer of recycled glass, we have a vested interest in increasing the collection rate. Because Just 10 per cent recycled glass reduces energy consumption by 3 per cent and CO2 emissions by 3.6 per cent."
Back in 2011, the Glass Packaging Action Forum, together with „The Green Dot“ - Duales-System Deutschland GmbH (DSD) launched the initiative „Not everything fits into used glass“ and has been campaigning for a higher collection quality of used glass ever since.
„The current decline in the recycling rate shows that there is still a great need for education on the correct disposal of glass packaging. We will therefore bundle synergies and make our contribution to the glass circular economy by actively participating in the European targets.“
Dr Johann Overath, Managing Director of the Bundesverband Glasindustrie e. V. (BV Glas)
Source: Bundesverband Glasindustrie e. V.
