This work looked at the potential for crushed glass derived from licenced premises to be processed to a quality suitable for remelt applications.
Glass from hospitality establishments is collected in a mixed colour format and then sent for further processing where the majority of it is believed to go to the aggregate market. One of the barriers to glass being recovered from the hospitality sector is a lack of storage space available. However this can be overcome by crushing the glass on site using a ‘behind-the-bar’ glass compactor unit before collection.
The case study outlines the results of a small scale practical trial to determine how the material would perform when processed and colour sorted at a recycled glass processing site.
Glass crushers in hospitality – optimising for re-melt uses
This project looked at the possibility of working with crusher manufacturers to modify the crushing processes so that the resulting glass pieces would be larger and easier to process for remelt. The work found that the market for under the counter glass crushers was relatively small which limited the incentive for manufacturers of crushers to want to modify the process. The work also highlights some of the issues around collection of crushed glass due to its weight.
