FEVE Report: Separate glass collections crucial in Europe, says report

Separated glass collection schemes need to be more widely supported across Europe in order to boost the recycling rate of bottles and jars, a key body has insisted. The report, by the Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+) on behalf of FEVE, called Good practices in collection and closed-loop glass recycling in Europe, states that only glass packaging collected separately will achieve the quality and quantity needed to meet the demand to make new packaging.
According to FEVE, the commingled collection of glass, with other dry recyclables, can result in a lower quality cullet that is only suitable for use in aggregates and other low grade applications meaning the resource is lost forever.
The report aims to identify good practices in the European glass packaging recycling industry in a bid to raise awareness and increase the quality of the cullet available. It includes case studies in eight European countries including the Netherlands (Packaging News International Bulletin, 24 February 2012).