Glass Recycling

Glass is one of the only 100% materials that can be recycled time and time again without losing quality. This property is what makes it an essential part of creating a sustainable, circular economy – and why we love it at Parry & Evans.

Every month, we process around 280 tonnes of commercial glass waste from businesses in the food and beverages industries across the UK on average.

Utilising our fleet of over 800 containers and 30 vehicles, we collect and bulk your waste glass in preparation for it to be sorted, crushed, melted and then remoulded into new high-quality glass products.

All of our commercial glass recycling contracts are bespoke to the client’s needs. Arranged in partnership with you by our dedicated team of recycling experts and designated account managers.

Get In Touch Today to find out how Parry & Evans can help you sustainably manage your commercial glass waste to contribute to a 360-economy.

Types of Commercial Glass We Recycle

The majority of commercially used glass products are 100% recyclable. This includes glass packaging in the food and beverage industry, such as bottles and jars; glassware in the homeware sector, like drinking glasses and decorative items; and architectural glass in the construction industry, such as windows, door panes, and other building applications.

We work with you and your team to identify what glass waste your business produces, how we can help you reduce your glass usage and create your own bespoke commercial glass recycling plan.

Glass Bottle (Green, Amber, Clear, Mixed)

MRF Glass

Plate, Flat or Float Glass

To find out more about how Parry & Evans can help you with all of your business’s recycling and waste management needs, visit our Total Waste Management Page (Coming Soon).

Parry and Evans Glass Recycling Process

As recycling specialists, we are dedicated to ensuring that all materials that we receive and process are recycled. For our commercial glass recycling service, we work with glass experts’ URM to turn 100% of your glass waste into high-quality recycled products.

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STAGE 01: Collection or Delivery

We can pick up your commercial glass waste from your business site from our specialist recycling containers or fleet of specialist waste material haulage vehicles. Alternatively, you can deliver your glass waste to our recycling facilities in a pre-arranged time slot.

STAGE 02: Bulking Glass For Transportation

At our specialist recycling facility, all of the commercial glass waste that we receive is bulked together and prepared for transportation to one of our glass recycling partners.

STAGE 03: Preparation & Treatment

Before the glass can be recycled it needs to be treated to remove any other contaminating materials like metals, paper, or plastic.

Metals like bottle caps or steel cans are removed by magnets as the glass passes along the belt. Next, the glass enters an enclosed chamber where it is blasted with air, and then a vertical dryer and blasted with hot air to remove large lightweight objects such as paper labels, and plastic jar lids, as well as moisture.

After these automatic processes, the glass is manually examined and sorted to remove any remaining contaminants.

STAGE 04: Glass Colour Sorting

The waste glass is then sorted using advanced machines that use vibrating feeders, high-definition cameras, and different types of light to detect and separate the glass into types and colours.

The processing line is lit up from below, with the high-definition cameras scanning each piece of glass cullet, detecting its colour spectrum and sending data to a computer. This identifies the type and colour of the glass and triggers precise air jets to sort them into the correct compartment.

STAGE 05: Glass Crushing

Once sorted, the glass is crushed and quality-tested to ensure that it meets the required specifications for manufacturing high-quality recycled glass products.

STAGE 06: Melting & Moulding

The high-quality crushed glass is supplied to glass product manufacturers where it is melted down and moulded to make new products, typically bottles and jars.

Total Waste Management

For UK businesses with a turnover of more than £2 million that produce, use, or sell packaging products, you must register and adhere to the Packaging Waste Regulations.

This includes paper-based packaging, with the regulations requiring businesses to ensure that a percentage of the paper packaging they use or produce is recycled.

At Parry & Evans, our environmental regulations specialists are always on hand to help you to guarantee that you comply with all relevant regulations. We also supply all businesses by providing Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) or Packaging Export Recovery Notes (PERNs).

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Commercial Glass Collection or Delivery

Our expert team at Parry & Evans work with you to create simple and efficient commercial glass waste plans that are built around your business requirements.

This includes your choice of on-site containers to easily collect and store your waste glass, to the frequency of collection from our recycling pick-up teams.

If you collect and transport your commercial waste glass, we can also arrange for priority delivery slots at our specialist recycling facilities – so that our grounds teams are ready and waiting to help you recycle your excess glass.

Standard 240L Wheelie Bins

1100L Eurobins

20-yard & 40-Yard Roll-On-Off Skips

Compactor Skips

Front-End Loading Containers

Curtain Slider Trucks (44 Bale Capacity)

To find out more about how Parry & Evans can help you with all of your business’s recycling and waste management needs, visit our Total Waste Management Page (Coming Soon).

Commercial Glass Recycling FAQs

The majority of commercially used glass products are 100% recyclable. This includes glass packaging in the food and beverage industry, such as bottles and jars; glassware in the homeware industry, like drinking glasses and decorative items; and architectural glass in the construction industry, such as windows, door panes, and other building applications.

As all of these commercial glass products are 100% recyclable, businesses that use these products or materials can help ensure that they are contributing to a circular economy and operating sustainably through our commercial glass recycling services.

Unfortunately, not all glass products that we use day to day can be recycled. This is due to three common reasons:

Mixed Materials or Composition: Glass that has been mixed with different materials or chemical additives like lead in crystal, or mercury in glass lighting tubes, cannot be traditionally recycled. These include products like light bulbs, Pyrex dishes, crystal glass and fluorescent lighting tubes.

Coatings and/or Treated Glass: Glass products that are coated or tempered are unsuitable for recycling due to the complications in separating the materials. These include products like windows, mirrors, and plate glass.

Contamination or Broken Glass: When glass breaks it is extremely difficult to sort efficiently and without serious safety concerns. This is even the case for 100% recyclable glass materials like bottles or jars, which if broken can make the materials unrecyclable due to the inefficiency and expense of sorting.

As glass can be recycled multiple times without losing its quality, its use and reuse within a closed-loop circular economy makes it one of the most sustainable materials that exist today.

If collected and sorted appropriately, almost all uncontaminated commercial glass waste can be melted down and repurposed into new glass products.

Below is a list of the benefits that come with glass recycling:

Less Extraction of Resources: Recycling existing glass decreases the need to extract new raw materials to make new glass. This helps to conserve natural environments and resources whilst protecting ecological systems.

Reduced Energy Consumption: Using recycled glass in the manufacturing process requires less energy and reduces the release of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Reduced Cost of Manufacture: Purchasing recycled glass is cheaper than extracting and creating new glass. These cost savings can be passed down to consumers, decreasing the cost of everyday living.

Less Landfill Waste: Recycling glass stops it from going into landfills.

More Green Jobs: As glass can be repeatedly recycled, by recycling your commercial glass you are creating more jobs in the recycling and sustainable manufacturing industry. A step closer to creating a completely 360 circular economy in the UK.

It is important to separate glass recycling into glass types and from other recycling materials due to its risk of breaking. Broken glass can contaminate other recyclable materials, making sorting too costly and inefficient, as well as creating safety hazards for handlers.

Proper separation of recyclables helps to ensure the efficiency of the glass recycling process and reduces the risk of making glass unrecyclable or causing harm.