Reusing waste cullet in glass manufacture
What you must do
In Northern Ireland, you may qualify for an exemption if you recover or dispose of waste cullet at the place where it is produced. This is only if the waste was generated from an integral part of the production process.
You may also qualify for an exemption if you:
- use cullet in your process, and the total quantity of cullet used does not exceed 600,000 tonnes in any period of 12 months
- sort, crush or wash cullet to be reused, and the total quantity of cullet you deal with per week does not exceed 1,000 tonnes, or
- store cullet to be used in glass manufacture at the same site and the total amount you store at any time does not exceed 5,000 tonnes.
You must register this exemption with the NIEA.
You must still ensure that your activity does not:
- endanger human health or cause pollution to water, air or soil
- cause a risk to plants or animals
- cause a nuisance in terms of noise, dust, fumes, smoke or odour
- adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest
In Scotland, you may need an EASR authorisation to treat and recover glass cullet.
Treated glass cullet, that meets the criteria for end-of-waste and is passed from a producer to a user (another holder), means that the cullet product is no longer classed as waste and may not subject to any authorisations.
SEPA: End of waste – Scrap metal and glass cullet
In Scotland, you will need an EASR industrial activity permit to manufacture glass.
Good practice
As far as possible, reclaim and reuse cullet within the production process.
If you manufacture lead glass, increasing the amount of cullet you recycle within the process might reduce the amount of hazardous/special waste you produce.