Cullet Comes In Curtainsider EV

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Saint-Gobain Glass is aiming for ‘Net Zero 2050’. The company has appointed Lee Glover as net zero & sustainability manager. His first task? Taking 17 tonnes of post-consumer glass transported by electric vehicle.

It was the first time Saint-Gobain had accepted such a large delivery by an EV. 

The zero emissions Euroliner Curtainsider, operated by family-owned haulage business Campeys, collected 26 bags of crushed glass, also known as cullet, from Safestyle UK’s premises in Barnsley.

The glass came from window replacement projects. It will now be recycled and used in the manufacture of new flat glass at Saint-Gobain Glass’s furnace in Eggborough and then re-used in residential and commercial projects across the UK.

Lee Glover

Glover joined Saint-Gobain four years ago as batch plant & cullet recycling manager. He says: “My new role demonstrates our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050, which is rooted in a long history of reducing our environmental impact not only in how we operate as a business but also in the performance of the products we manufacture.

“The use of electric delivery vehicles is another step in our journey. Last year we added two HVO vehicles to our fleet, which run on hydrotreated vegetable oil. Also, at The FIT Show we showcased our mobile glass crushing machine, built inside a recycled shipping container, which can be taken to large building refurbishment projects, where the old glass can be crushed into cullet on site before being transported back to our factory and made into new high-performance glass.”

More cullet

Using more cullet in the manufacture of flat glass means there is no impact on the quality of the new glass and there are several environmental benefits – glass is infinitely recyclable, fewer raw materials are required, the furnace can be set at a lower temperature and the glass is recycled rather than going to landfill. The aim is to include 50% cullet in the manufacturing process by 2025.

Glover adds: “For businesses like ours, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 means working with our customers and suppliers and taking action today. In addition to ongoing improvement and operational excellence programs, we encourage and support our customers to make changes that are needed to meet this challenge. Waste glass from the manufacturing process has long been recycled – the next step is to recycle more glass from residential renovation and commercial refurbishment projects.

“To deliver this glass to us on electric or HVO fuelled vehicles will certainly speed up our journey to net zero.”

Picture: Saint-Gobain glass net zero & sustainability manager Lee Glover with the mobile glass crushing machine at The FIT Show 2023.

www.saint-gobain-glass.com

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
29th June 2023

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