Glass for Europe publishes a new paper on the harmonised calculation of recycled content in flat glass

Recycled content is therefore an important element of the flat glass sector’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. To ensure consistent and transparent reporting, a clear and harmonised methodology for calculating recycled content is needed.

Glass for Europe has published a new position paper on the harmonised definition and calculation of recycled content in the flat glass sector, developed together with Glass for Europe members and experts.

The methodology builds on existing European and international standards and applies their principles to the calculation of recycled content in flat glass. It also reflects the specificities of the flat glass manufacturing process, taking into consideration the specific boundaries between furnace process, pre-consumer and post-consumer cullet within flat glass production, in accordance with the relevant definitions and standards. The approach establishes common principles for identifying the relevant material flows and for determining the proportion of recycled material in the finished product.

The methodology also provides guidance for specific cases that may arise in the production process and for situations where the different material flows cannot be directly measured or segregated.

The same principles can be applied to determine post-consumer recycled content and, where relevant, to calculate the recycled content of processed glass products by taking into account the recycled content of their individual components.

By bringing these principles together in a single methodology, the paper seeks to support a widely recognised, consistent and transparent approach to recycled content calculation across the flat glass sector. It can thus facilitate the reporting of recycled content and the comparability of environmental information.

The paper is intended as a practical reference for manufacturers, policymakers and other stakeholders working on recycled content and circularity in the flat glass sector.

Read the position paper now available online.